Many of Adams House's well-fed Goldcoasters are rapidly winning recognition for their gourmandise as well as their gourmanderic.

The trend away from the mere state of being well-fed towards a more refined expertise started several years ago when a resident tutor, Scymour O. Simches, founded the Adams House Wine Tasters Society. The organization became so popular that another separate group was formed this year.

After debating the comparative merits of Swiss versus Limburger this fall, two resident tutors, Norman G. Shapiro 3G and Andrew G. Jameson 3G, and Robert C. Larson '54 decided to form the Adams House Cheese Tasters Society which has held six meetings and is already plagued with growing pains.

Starting with only a few men in the "cheesy" set, the Society attracted 19 men to its meeting, "English Night," at which the members sampled English cheddar and Stilton cheese.

Preserve Congeniality

"Since this is a House function, we can't and don't want to restrict membership," Jameson says. "But to preserve the atmosphere of congeniality, we'll have to divide into two groups if the number of House members who manage to wedge in time for a wedge of cheese every two weeks increases much more."

Membership in the Cheese Tasters is quite unique. To join, a man simply comes to meetings; his dues are equal to the total amount spent for the evenings repast, divided by the number of men present.

"So far, we haven't had a meeting at which the total cost exceeded 30 cents per man," claims Jameson, who is the club's chief buyer and researcher. But no one has complained because he didn't get enough choose.

"Congeniality is the basis of the club," Jameson says. "But," he adds, "our object is not just to sit around and gobble cheese. Like gourmets we're learning to appreciate the cheese and its historical background," he says.

The regular formalities of the meetings consist, of course, in the sampling of cheese. The members taste two or three different varieties at each meeting. "We're looking forward to the day on which we can have our first sample of camel's milk."

At the meetings the comments of each member are recorded. The members sample the cheese looking for four different qualities--its color and appearance, texture, aroma, and flavor.

One That 'Stank'

The minutes show that there was only one cheese which the members thought 'stank.' Norwegian goat cheese had a taste that was rich, sweet, flat, condensed milk, and oily. It had the appearance of peanut butter and with its sour-like aroma, it was unanimously despised by the entire group.

To improve the flavor of the cheese, crackers are also served at meetings, and to wash down the flavor of one cheese before sampling another, wine is served.

Like fine connoisseurs, the Cheese Tasters have paid close attention to the wine they choose. After six meetings, the group definitely prefers an unsweet red wine and chooses Burgundy over Chianti.