The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-03-30
The BrattlebOrO Meeting.
COLONEL CURTIS ON CHEESE
MAKING-U.

mAhlHd-Il,
In our issue of March 2, we left
Colonel Curtis very useful paper "To
be Continued" and it has remained so
through mistake--we thinking we had
sent the whole of it to the printer,
which was not the case. In this issue
we conclude his remarks on cheese
making, and may hereafter add the
equally instructive notes on butter
making.
Professor Arnold's ideas were better
received in the Province of Ontario,
and there he went as teacher. 1t is at
least striking coincidence that Canada
cheese, before in the background, at
once took the lead of our cheese, and
has maintained it ever since, while the
states are now going to Canada for
teachers and light on the subject of
cheese making. Doubtless she NAV
have improved some on his teaching.
If so, she is doing better than we are in
some of the states.
l make a short extract from report
of the proceedings of the late New
! York State Dairymen's Association, by
the secretary Of that association, which
appeared in the Country Gentleman &:
"W. H. Phillips Of Wisconsin next gave
experience as cheese instructor in
that state. One great defect, he said,
in our factory system is the great num-
Der of inferior factories which have
been built. They are too close together
TO allow each factoryman a sufficient
margin of profit. Faulty in structure,
with too little room, improper drainage,
neglected whey tank, curing room with
temperature ranging from the freezing
point to 1902 F., with cheap apparatus
and watts that leak upon the least provo
cation-these are some of The lions in
the way of successful cheese-making."
If he had added, "heaters that fill
the building with smoke, and home
prepared rennet 80 tainted as to nearly
knock man down when the rennet-iar
is opened" l should have recognized
the picture as complete. But there are
better things in Wisconsin.
About 1878, Professor Arnold sug-
gested to Professor Caldwell of Cornell
University a series of experiments to
test the effect of oxygen on the flavor
of cheese. The result was given by
DR.. S. M. Babcock, to whom was as
signed the carrying out of the expert
ment, in the station report of 1879:
From that l quote: "a new cheese
when taken from the press" says the
doctor, is composed essentially of the
same constituents as the milk from
which it was made, the chief difference
being that the cheese contains less
water; of course the more soluble parts
of the milk, as the sugar and albumen,
are largely removed with the water. The
small amount of milk sugar retained by
the curd is usually at this time already
converted into Tactic acid. The casein
is now tough and insoluble, and the
cheese has no marked flavor or odor.
This, however, is not long the case.
Changes commence Immediately, and
under favorable circumstances the
casein loses in a few weeks its hard
ness, becomes soft and waxy when
pressed between the fingers, and ac-
quires the flavor and odor peculiar to
ripe cheese. During this time, the
casen has been largely converted into
soluble albuminoids (peptones), but
there are also formed small quantities
of leucin, tyrosin, ammonia and often
butyric and other fatty acids" Then
followed review of the theory of the
digestive action of rennet, and that of
the formati IN of fat during the curing
of cheese, both of which are set aside
as not well sustained. But the per-
centage of soluble abuminoids is reg
ularly and ma erially increased. Moth
ing" says Dr. B ,bcock, {" has thus far
been done to show the action of the at
mosphere, or even of the rennet, when
other agents have been excluded, after
its work of coagulating the milk is
completed" To make a test, cheese
was placed in alright receivers, and
the air analysed from time to time. In
every case the oxygen rapidly disap-
peared, even when an excess of oxygen
was added, while large quantities of
carbonic acid gas were set free. ITO
test whether oxygen is an essential ele-
ment in the curing process, portions
of curd were prepared, some of which
were freely exposed to its action while
others were entirely excluded from it,"
Little or no flavor was developed in the
absence of oxygen. Many cases were
found in which the casein was well
broken down without having any flavor.
His words are: " 1t was never devel-
oped where oxygen was excluded"
But "cheese Of good flavor is often
found in which the casein is hard and
insoluble." Again "The high havors
peculiar to the best factory cheese are
only developed in warm, airy place.
The breaking down of the
casein appears to be caused by some
agent contained in the rennet, which
in many particulars resembles an or
gained ferment that acts very slowly
when the amount of water present in
the cheese is less than the casein, and
stops its action entirely when the
casein is in large excess"
Later, more conclusive and more sat.
isiactory tests may have been made
| so, / have failed to meet them, and