Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-11-08
MERITS OF CHEESE.

MERI1S Ot' CHEESE.
With a uniform grade of manufacture,
| what Influences tend to produce varia-
ton in the flavor of cheese? Since l be-
came practical manufacturer, says a
writer in the Prairie Farmer, this point
has become more clear to me than form
erly, hence | will attempt a lucid expla-
nation. To begin with, milk is of the
| same nature the world over. That
yielded from the pampas of Argentine,
the bush plains of Australia or the green
mOors of England, if subjected alike to
the cheddar process, will make cheese of
similar texture, although they may differ
in flavor.
Flavor is a subtle thing Primarily we
might say that it has its origin in the
! secret recesses of plant-life, and as that
/ plant-life varies, 50 the favoring of milk
produced from it varies also. Taking
| this for granted, let us examine and COM
pare imported Swiss cheese, and cheese
made by the Swiss process in America.
They are both alike in texture, even to
the circular cavities scattered through
the body at irregular intervals. Taste
samples Of each, however, and note the
radical difference in point of flavor. The
American cheese leaves a certain dry,
tastelcss sensation on the palate, while
the imported is much more pungent and
appetizing. I believe that goats milk
often enters into the composition of the
latter, which may, in a measure account
for some of the diversity. But the grass
that grows in the high attitudes of the
Swiss cantons must necessarily be of
different quality from that grazed in the
more humid low-lying regions of Wis
consin or Ohio. This difference of feed
quality, combined with similar climatic
conditions, and long sea voyage are the
agents that influence flavor.
Now, take our American cheddar
cheese. You can go into the curing
room Of any factory, and with trier
bore a sample from every days make out
of a weeks manufacture. An expe-
rienced man is in charge, and he under
stands how to make an even fine quality
grade of cheese-a master of the art, in
fact. Take these seven samples to the
light and compare them. In hue, in
texture, and in mellowness they are the
same, the skill of the maker being fully
illustrated therein.
Taste of each sample carefully, retain
ing it on the palate long enough to let
your judgement pass on the flavor. 1t
will not take very expert judge to de-
tect several distinct favors in such
weeks make of cheese The cheese hav-
ing been produced at the hands Of a
trade expert, no diversity Of flavor due
to faulty manufacture is present, and the
discrepancy can be laid entirely at the
door of natural milk condition. I do
not mean a condition implying faint, for
then milk is in diseased state, but
mean the normal quality of a healthy
cows milk as yielded from day to day.
As nature thus controls flavor, and it is
| liable to frequently vary, we can there
| fore conclude that exact uniformity in
this direction is impossible of attainment
! The distinctions are so subtle, however,
that they have no bearing of Importance
on the general quality, unless we compare
the productions of different seasons of
| the year. For example, take hay-made
cheese of best quality. It lacks body and
the flavor is fiat, compared to that made
on June grass, and even more so when
placed against the production of August
and September There is no part Of the
season in which climatic and grazing
conditions are better adapted to the pro-
duction of rich, fine favored cheese, than
the last two months mentioned.
Farmers, mechanics and artisans, those
who esteem cheese as daily article of
diet, and who buy it in bulk for family
use, select full cream, full-made stock,
for your winter larder. Sweet and nutty
of taste when newly cured, it does not
take on that sharp acidity so characteristic
of six-months-old mid-summer-made
stock. The little variations that nature
makes in flavor can be got along very
we'll with, if man makes no mistake IN
manufacture.
When the artificial process is adjusted
to a grade of perfect uniformity, cheese
will have reached the high water mark
of excellence in every particular