The Dakota Cheese Company was flying high in 1983. With 11.5 million in sales of mozzarella and provolone, the 12-year-old company was expected to continue growing. Dakota Cheese president James Dee credited his government contracts for his company’s success. That success was enabling expansion into private markets. Dee expected Dakota Cheese to score a big contract with “a major chain of pizza parlors” soon.
Five years later, success gave way to disgrace. Farmers stopped delivering milk. Dee was forced to sell off his company’s assets to Associated Milk Producers Inc. No self-respecting pizza parlor would be associated with Dakota Cheese. Not after they’d been accused of defrauding the government.
The 1988 indictment claimed that by using calcium caseinate as an ingredient in the cheese purchased for school lunch contracts, Dakota Cheese had misled the government and violated the FDA cheese regulations.
A lab near Philadelphia completed an analysis of the cheese. They declared the mozzarella to be “phony.”
The company was done for.
But the Philadelphia scientists were just getting started. The analysis had them inspired. Perhaps mozzarella cheese could be altered within the confines of FDA law. Perhaps it could be improved upon, made lower fat, without sacrificing taste and texture. The lab took on the name “The Mozarella Group.”
By 1994, the scientists were homing in on new ways to make pizza and string cheese lower-fat, for the health of dieters and schoolchildren alike.
“It’s easy to make low-fat cheese,” the lead scientist explained. “The problem is texture.” Mozzarella was of particular interest. “Everyone [else] was working on cheddar,” she said.
Her name was Edyth Malin. She was born in 1926 in Fitchburg, Massachussetts to Joseph and Marie Lasky. In 1947, she married Morton V. Malin, who she met while attending Vanderbilt University.
After marrying, the Malins lived in Chillum, Maryland, and later, Rockville and Silver Spring. And so, in 1980, Edyth contributed two recipes to “Treasures from our Tables,” a cookbook compiled by the Sisterhood of the Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase.
There is nothing about Edyth’s recipes for Cornish Hens and Beef Roulades that would give you any indication that she would develop a groundbreaking method for reducing the fat content from cheeses. Her 2018 obituary mentioned the accomplishment and the fact that she was a member and volunteer for the Association for Women In Science (AWIS).
The mozzarella group wasn’t done bringing phony cheesemongers to justice. In the early 1990s, they analyzed some imported buffalo mozzarella, finding it contained only traces of buffalo milk. The importers learned what the Dakota Cheese company had learned: you don’t want to go up against the Mozzarella Group.
Recipe:
- 1 Lb beef sliced thin
- 1 Cup soft breadcrumbs
- .25 to .5 Cup fresh or canned mushroom stems & pieces
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- .5 to .75c Cup shredded cheese, Parmesan
- .5 Cup minced parsley, fresh or frozen
- garlic powder to taste
- melted butter
- 1Lb fresh mushroom caps
- 1 Cup dry red wine
- vegetable oil
- Accent
Use thin slices of round steak usually called braciales. Figure on 1 slice per person for men and a half slice for women. These slices should be 6 to 8 inches wide and about 10 to 12 inches long. Cut each slice in half crosswise. Pound with a wooden mallet until absolutely tender and quite thin. Prepare the stuffing with the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley and mushroom stems and pieces, with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Add just enough butter to hold together. Place 1 tablespoon of filling on each piece of meat, roll and fasten with skewer or tie. Brown the mushroom caps in half butter and half oil in a skillet. Remove and set aside. Brown rolls in same skillet, season with salt, pepper and Accent. Return mushrooms to pan, add wine, cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes until meat is tender. Remove skewers and serve. If there is too much juice, remove rolls and simmer juice down. Serve over rolls. Serves 4 to 6.
Recipe from Treasures From our Tables, Sisterhood of Temple Shalom, Chevy Chase, 1980
