By the 1850s the production of cheese had become one of America's major industries. “Cheese is often made a course by itself; indeed, the general tendency of the modern dinner is to have each dish all alone by itself.” Alternatively it could be served at the meal’s conclusion, as it was believed to aid digestion. In response to the increasing popularity of cheese, silver manufacturers introduced a range of specialized dining utensils, such as the cheese knife with its succession of bifurcated points terminating its blade or, for softer varieties, the cheese scoop. By the 1870s both forms were deemed integral to the complete dinner service.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.