The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-11-04
HOW CHEESE AGES.
A Discovery That Bacteria is Noe the
Cause, But the Milk Ferments.

Cause, But the Milk FermenGs
Dairymen and farmers about the
county are deeply interested in dis
coveries made in Madison during the
last few weeks about the ripening OF
cheese. The discoveries were made
by DR.. Fl. L. Russell and DR.. S. M.
Babcock, of the Agricultural college,
and are said to be the most important
of the century.
The value of the cheese product is
dependent entirely on the manner IN
which the process of ripening is car
ried out and yet the cause of this
ripening is unknown.
Ever since the days of Abraham
milk has been curdled by rennet and
made into cheese.
The advances that have been made
since have been those that have come
as the result of pure experience.
Within recent years many attempts
have been made by scientists to eX-
plain these phenomena.
For years it has been the universal
opinion of scientists that the ripening
of cheese was due to bacteria in the
milk product. Investigation for the
most part has been to determine what
kind of bacteria was the cause of the
| phenomena. Drs. Babcock and Russell
have discovered that the ripening is
due to ferments in the milk product
| op1 not RI hootorio
The Development of Ferments.
Instead of relying upon heat to de-
stroy all signs of organic life that ex-
listed in the milk, Drs. Babcoek and
Russell tried chemicals like ether and
chloroform, and much to their sur
prise they found that the milk itself
without the help of any organisms
whatever, had the power of undergo
ing series of changes that was prac-
tically the same as those that take
place in the ripening Of cheese. Fol-
lowing up this clue they were soon
liable to demonstrate that this sponta-
neous digestion was due to the pres
ence of ferments of peculiar charac-
ter that were inherent in the milk it.
SELF These ferments, known techni
cally to scientists as engines, are pc
culiar substances of a purely morgan
lied nature, but which at the same
time possess characteristics that ally
them closely to living things.
What Is Shown by Analysis.
A chemical analysis of cheese re-
veals the fact that the casein or green
curd which is insoluble at first, is
gradually converted into the soluble
substances such as peptones IN this
soluble condition the constituents Of
tie cheese can be readily digested and
it's value as food consists largely in
this change, which is also accompan-
led by the development of peculiar
f1avors that are so characteristic of
different kinds of cheese. No salts
factory explanation has, however, been
assigned for this series of chemical
transformations.
a study of cheese from bacteria
logical point of view shows that it is
fairly teeming with such microscopic
forms of life as bacteria, These in
the main come from the milk itself,
but even after the cheese is made
they grow so luxuriantly that hun
dreds upon hundreds of millions are
found in every mouthful of food. The
kinds that are most concerned in this
growth are those that form sour milk,
but the perplexing problem has been
to reconcile the presence of this type of
life with the breaking down of cheese,
inasmuch as the sour or Tactic acid
organisms are unable to form soluble
substances from insoluble proteids.
4 Progressive Action of the Discovery.
The processes Of digestion in the
animal body as we'll as many of the
phenomena that occurs in the plant
kingdom are controlled in the main
by the action of these ferments. Most
of these engines are able to do their
" work" in the presence of anaesthet-
les, while such substances almost i'm
mediately exhibit the growth of bac-
terra. Thus by keeping milk under
conditions where bacterial action was
excluded, they we're able to follow the
} changes that we're solely due to the
engines insthe milk itself. A chemi-
cal analysis of such milks at different
periods showed the same kind Of de-
composition products as are ordinarily
} found in a..well ripened cheese. More
over these products gradually accu-
mulated in quantity, showing a pro-
gressive action of the ferment.
Beware of ointments for Catarrh that con-
tain Mercury,
as mercury will surely destroy the
sense of smell and completely derange
the whole system when entering it