proverb · Source-linked selection
If you would have a good cheese, and have'n old, You must turn'n seven times before he is cold.
If you would have a good cheese, and have'n old, You must turn'n seven times before he is cold.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying recommends turning a cheese seven times before it cools if it is to be good and kept old. A remembered count is attached to a preparation task.
What the words are saying
The repeated turning is made the condition of the desired result. A useful reading identifies the instruction and its stated purpose without certifying the process, number or safety of the food. The rhyme illustrates how a practical-sounding formula can be easy to remember while leaving materials and methods unspecified.
Everyday example
A reader records the counted instruction as historical lore rather than using it as a complete cheese-making procedure.
When to use it
Use it to examine a numbered instruction in food-production lore.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
The process is not independently verified food-safety or preparation guidance.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 235 · Cheese
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English