Cheese Preserver Jar, Part II

by Mark A. Nye
Issue No. 221 - September 1991

For the October 1990 (#210) issue of this newsletter, I put together an article that first, provided a brief history of the Cambridge Sanitary Cheese Preserver Jar; and second, concluded with a series of letters, dating to 1941-42, that dealt with complaints about the cheese preserver.

Since that time, additional material dealing with the cheese preserver has been found during the cataloging of documents recovered from the environs of the Cambridge Glass Co. office building, prior to its demolition. It is from this material that the following letters come, and in this group is the letter from Marye Dahnke of Kraft Cheese Co. referred to in the previous article. Unfortunately, this particular group of letters is incomplete and we may never know if Paul Hildebrand took three packages of Kraft's Chantil Cheese to Cambridge when he traveled there on Monday, September 14, 1942.

March 21st, 1942

Mr. W. C. McCartney
Advertising Manager
Cambridge Glass Company
Cambridge, Ohio

Dear Mr. McCartney,

In Marshall Fields retail store Mrs. Myrna Johnston, Associate Editor in charge of Better Foods and Home Management saw a glass storage device for cheese which she thinks is made by you. In the bottom of the glass, the directions say to place 1/3 cup of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Crystal spokes radiate to the center of the container for resting the cheese. The device retails for $1.95 at Marshall Fields. 

Do you make this, and will you please tell what research has been drawn into it? That is, is it approved by such producers of cheese as Kraft Cheese Company of Chicago? We would especially be interested to know whether Marye Dahnke, Director of the Home Economics department of the Kraft Cheese Company is familiar with this device?

Will you please explain to us what is the principle of this device -- does the salt and vinegar delay bacterial action?

We are writing because we know it is very difficult to find a device to keep cheese satisfactorily, and it would be a real pleasure for us to show this editorially, if it has been tested for a wide variety of cheeses and has been proved satisfactory for them. We shall be very interested in the details of what types have been kept in the device, both individually and together.

Thanks so much for the help you will be giving us. We are asking about this as possibility for editorial reference in the department "It's News To Me!" sample tear sheet attached. We should like to know the dimensions of the device, and whether this is the general retail price that will be asked for it.

Sincerely yours,

Anna J. Olson
Associate Editor, Director of "It's News To Me!" Department
Better Homes & Gardens
Meredith Publishing Company
Des Moines, Iowa

March 26th, 1942

Miss Anna Joyce Olson, Associate Editor
Better Homes & Gardens
Meredith Publishing Company
Des Moines, Iowa

Dear Miss Olson:

We acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 21st relative to the Cheese Preserver that we manufacture.

We have manufactured this for a number of years. It was originally made for a firm that manufactures Sweitzer Cheese and they exploited it with their cheese. In recent years we have exploited it to the department stores and such firms as Hammacher & Schlemmer, who have put quite a little advertising behind the item and have sold great quantities of them.

Since we have been promoting this item we know of no research work being done on it, neither has it (to our knowledge) been submitted to the Kraft Cheese Co. We do not know whether Marye Dahnke of the Kraft Cheese Co. is familiar with this device but today are writing our Chicago representative to get in touch with her and obtain her opinion of the same.

We have found that most any type of cheese will keep for a reasonable length of time in this preserver, especially where the preserver is used practically every day and the cover taken from same so that it does not allow the mixture of vinegar and salt to become too strong. In other words, a little air each day seems to help preserve the cheese and to keep it from absorbing too much of the mixture.

Now, in order that you yourself may make tests of this Preserver, we are sending one to you, which we will ask that you put in use and we shall be pleased to have you report the results of your experiments with the same.

Thanking you for the interest you have taken in the item, we are

Yours very sincerely,
The Cambridge Glass Co.
Secretary

March 26, 1942

Paul Hildebrand:
Chicago Office

We herewith hand you letter from Miss Anna Joyce Olson of Better Homes & Gardens.

We have never done any research work on this item so I am just wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea for you to give Marye Dahnke, Director of the Home Economics Dept. of the Kraft Cheese Company, one of the Jars, explaining it's purpose and let her experiment with it. Of course, we would want to know the results of her experiment.

It might not be worth a darn as far as Kraft Cheese is concerned but we do know for Sweitzer, Cream and cheese of this type that it does work.

If you don't have an extra sample, please advise and we will mail you out one.

Yours, truly,
The Cambridge Glass Co.
W. C. McCartney

Western Union
Des Moines, Iowa
April 2, 1942

The Cambridge Glass Company Attn: W. C. McCartney. Cheese preserver arrived broken. Filing claim. Please duplicate shipment.

Anna Olson
Better Homes & Gardens 1:15 pm

April 2nd, 1942

Miss Anna Joyce Olson, Associate Editor
Better Homes & Gardens
Meredith Publishing Company
Des Moines, Iowa

Dear Miss Olson:

Regret very much to note from the enclosed telegram that the Cheese Jar arrived broken, so we hasten today to send you another one.

It will not be necessary for you to file claim as this item was not charged to you, and we will therefore file it from this end since the package was insured.

Regretting very much the unfortunate circumstances in this instance, we are

Yours Truly,
The Cambridge Glass Co.
Secretary

April 18th, 1942
Mr. P. H. Hildebrand

The cheese jar mentioned in your letter of April 7th arrived promptly and we have completed our experiment with it.

We feel, first, that it is somewhat inconvenient from the standpoint of taking up too much room in the refrigerator.

Second, while the principle of the jar is right in that it actually prevents molding of cheese kept in it, we did notice that the longer cheese is kept in the jar, the more vinegar taste it acquires. At the end of three weeks the cheese that we were keeping in the jar had so strong a taste of vinegar that it was unpalatable and no longer tasted like cheese.

Except for this objection, I would say that your jar does keep cheese perfectly.

Sincerely yours,

Kraft Cheese Company
Marye Dahnke, Director
Home Economics Department

May 1st, 1942

Mr. W. C. McCartney
Cambridge Glass Co.
Cambridge, Ohio

I am enclosing a report just received from Marye Dahnke of the Kraft Cheese Company, which is self-explanatory.

Very truly,
P. H. Hildebrand

May 4th, 1942
My Dear Paul:

We have received your letter of May 1st with the letter from Miss Marye Dahnke, Director, Home Economics of Kraft Cheese Co.

Evidently from this letter, she does not understand fully the method of using the cheese jar.

We will first answer that part of her letter where she says it does take up to much room in a refrigerator. It is not necessary in using this cheese jar with the solution in it, to place it in a refrigerator. This will keep the cheese fresh in any temperature.

What she says is true about this preventing the molding of the cheese when kept in it, as we have had a piece of cheese in a jar since the first of the year and no mold has occurred.

It is also true that the longer the cheese is kept in the jar, the more vinegar taste is acquired if the cover is not lifted once a day and the cheese and solution allowed to ventilate or obtain air.

Now generally the way any lover of cheese uses this jar is to put the solution in, then place the cheese in it. Then each day a cheese eater will open the jar, lay the cover aside, pick out the cheese, cut a piece off of it, then place it back and put the cover on. You can readily see by doing this that the contents receive plenty of air and that the cheese then does not absorb the vinegar.

Kindly ask Miss Dahnke to experiment along this line.

We also find that the present type of vinegar as sold in bottles thru the stores seems to be much stronger than the old fashioned vinegar that was used when this jar was first made, so we are suggesting that a mixture be made of about 2/3 vinegar and 1/3 water so as to make a weaker solution, so ask her to try this out again along these lines and make a report to you.

I think it will be well to interview her and go over these points.

We hope we have a more favorable report at an early date.

Yours very truly,
The Cambridge Glass Company
W. C. McCartney

May 7th, 1942

Mr. W. C. McCartney
Cambridge Glass Co.
Cambridge Ohio

Miss Marye Dahnke, Director, Home Economics of Kraft Cheese Co . has agreed to make additional experiments with our cheese jar.

She was very glad to get the information contained in your letter to me of May 4th, for she didn't know that this item would keep cheese from molding if left outside of the refrigerator, nor did she think to dilute the vinegar. She will experiment along these lines and has several other ways of her own which she promised to report on.

The lifting of the lid of this jar each day, however, did not appeal to her. She could see where that might preserve the cheese she said, and that although she liked to believe that people that had cheese ate it every day, even in the position she holds at Krafts she could hardly conceive that was possible with the majority of people.

She said that she was under the impression that many people would buy cheese possibly at a special price or would find a special brand of cheese which they didn't intend to use right away, or which was bought for fear they wouldn't be able to get it later, and she contends that people that buy cheese in that way will not like to bother with lifting the cover off to allow air in each day. She is going to see what can be done however, and will report to us later.

She is wondering if you would consider a rectangular or square cheese jar which is smaller. She feels there is a great need for a jar of this type and says the one we have is not one that will ever be an item for the majority of people for it is too large and she thought that if we ever did make a smaller one, a square or rectangular one would be the logical shape.

Very truly,
P. H. Hildebrand

August 29th, 1942
P. H. Hildebrand:
Chicago Office

We do not find that we have heard from you since May 7th, regarding the Cheese Preserver and would like to know if Miss Marye Dahnke of Kraft Cheese Co. has given you a report on her experiments with our Cheese Preserver.

Yours truly,
The Cambridge Glass Co.
W. C. McCartney

August 31, 1942
Mr. W. C. McCartney
Cambridge Glass Co.
Cambridge Ohio

In reply to your letter of 29th. Wish to advise that Miss Marye Dahnke of KRAFT CHEESE COMPANY reports she has been unable to run a retest on our cheese preserver because of the rush of other things.

She told me today however, that she would get busy on this and would let us have a report in the very near future.

Very truly,
P. H. Hildebrand

September 8th, 1942
Mr. W. C. McCartney
Cambridge Glass Co.
Cambridge Ohio

Talked to Miss Dahnke of Kraft Cheese today and was very much surprised at what she had to say.

She tells me that she tried another experiment with our cheese preserver and that after a period of three or four days a chunk of Chantil cheese had mold on it, that a half-pound of Old English had a very salty and moist taste.

She said that in both of these the mixture had been weakened to 2/3 vinegar and 1/3 water as we had suggested also that the cover had been removed daily to allow circulation of air.

I told her I was at a loss to know how this could possibly happen as I knew we had experimented with cheese over a period of months without any mold appearing.

She said that she would continue experiments on this to see if it would happen again.

Very truly,
P. H. Hildebrand

September 10th, 1942
Paul Hildebrand:
Chicago Office

Have your letter of the 8th advising us of your talk with Miss Dahnke and note you were very much surprised at her report.

I don't know anything about these process cheeses but I know such cheese as wheel cheese does not mold in the jar.

I would suggest you take one of the Jars and conduct a few experiments yourself either at home or in the office and see how you come out.

Yours truly,
The Cambridge Glass Co.
W. C. McCartney

SPECIAL DELIVERY

September 11th, 1942
Paul Hildebrand:
Chicago office

When you come to the factory Monday I wish you would bring us two or three packages of Kraft's Chantil Cheese. We can't obtain this here and I would like to experiment with it in our Cheese Preserver.

Yours sincerely,
W. C. McCartney
The Cambridge Glass Co.

(Mailed at noon)