The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-07-09
Requisites for Making Good Cheese.


To make cheese of good keeping
quality and of fine flavor, and such as
suits the tastes of consumers in En-.
gland, and to large extent in this
country, it is essential that acidity be
developed in the curds before sailing
and putting to press.
During the last quarter of century
the tastes of English speaking people
have changed materially in regard to
the flavor of cheese. Years ago, q very
pronounced sharp flavor was thought to
be perfection in cheese, and many pre-
ferred it so sharp that it would almost
take the skin off the tongue while eat
ing it. Nor was cheese Objectionable
that was tainted. or what we call "off
flavor many preferring kind of faint
like Undergraduate, of which the
Germans are so fond. This kind OF
cheese, about twenty-five years ago,
was very common, and the general
practice then was to make on the sweet
curd plan. In those days the makers
took the greatest care to keep the whey
and curds sweet during the process of
cheese-making, and any development
of acidity was considered great injury
and something to be carefully avoided.
But gradually the tastes of English
speaking people have changed so that
now clean, nutty, rich, full flavor is
required, while anything strong, harsh
and tainted in the taste proves very OBJ
jectionable.
Now, in order to get this desira BILE
ic ri nf hot
sugar be changed into Tactic acid, and
in this state separated from the curds
in the whey; for if any considerable
quantity is retained in curds as on the
non acid or sweet curd plan, it induces
undue fermentation in the cheese on the
shelf; hence noXious gases are evolved,
tainting the cheese, and then follows
more or less rapid decomposition, and
we get cheese of bad flavor and short
lived. having no keeping qualities. The
non-acid or sweet curd system, which
some theorists have attempted to intro
duce, has been very pernicious in its in
t1uence on the quality and flavor of
American cheese, wherever it has been
tried and adopted. 1t seeks to over
throw the progress in cheese making
during the last twenty years and to re-
turn again to the old way of cheese
manufacture, with its sharp, tainted
and sinking product. The "sweet
curds' produced has no long keeping
qualities-it must be eaten when from
thirty to forty days old Gf a sharp
tainted flavor is to be avoided) for it is
then in its best estate. But cheese
properly made on the acid plan will
keep from one to two years and yet be
street, mild and nutty in flavor.
But the use of acid can be abused. for
when the curds are allowed to lie in the
sour whey for a long time, it is often
very injurious, causing dry, hard,
weak favored cheese. The better way
in manufacturing is to draw the whey
early, or on the near approach to acidi-
ty and then let the proper degree Of
change or acid develop in the curds while
in the vat or exposed to the atmosphere.
There has been a great deal of non
sense written about making cheese on
the 50 non-acid plan" and then "oxid-
ling the curds' until they have ga
cheesey smelf'-just as if this was some
new system and wonderful discovery.
Put in plain language that every one
cheese on the acid pl01a-oXidation is
nothing more than exposing the curds
to the atmosphere and the g cheesey
smell is developing acidity until the
curds give off that peculiar odor which
is always the result of developing acid
ty, and never occurs at this stage of
the process from anv other cause. Hence
we say if fine flavor and long keeping
qualities are sought for in cheese it is
essential that acid be developed in the
curds before sailing. The act of sailing
checks further progress in this direc-
ton, and the result is we get that sweet,
nutty flavor so much sought after by the
lovers of good cheese.
The feeding of whey to COWS is not a
practice to be recommended. 1t has
tendency to sour and decompose the
milk more rapidly than it should, and
besides it often gives to milk bad
flavor which is carried to the products
made from it. About the time that the
factory system began to be established
many dairymen inaugurated the plan of
feeding whey to their cows, but ''whey-
fed milk" was found to give q great
deal OF trouble to cheese makers, and
to produce an Off flavor to cheese, so
the feeding of whey soon dropped out
OF practice in the best dairy districts,
and no progressive dairyman can now
be found who will recommend it. We
say to our correspondent, if he wants
TO produce good, sound, fine-havored
milk avoid feeding whey to his COWS
clean, fresh running water and good,
sweet food are important elements for
making sound and fine-havored milk
american Daiyyman.