The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-11-07
NEW CHEESE TESTS.
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY MADE AS TO
THE RlPENING PROCESS.

Results of Tests Made by Drs. BabcOclr
and Russell.
What is probably the most important
discovery in the history Of dairy science
has recently been made by DR.. S. M.
Babcock and DR.. H. L. Russell of the
Wisconsin university experiment sta
tion. They have discovered and have,
they think, proved beyond any question
that the ripening Of cheese is not due to
bacteria in the milk product, but that
it is caused by ferments in the milk.
They have made hundreds Of test analy-
ses and are sure that the result they
reached is correct.
DR.. Babcock and DR. Russell have
been investigating this subject for more
than three years. Culture Of the various
organisms tried after the current meth
DDS failed to produce the desired result
The doctors faithfully reproduce results
reported by their European colleagues,
and still no hypothesis could be ad-
vanced that did not have a serious flaw
at one point OF another. 1t was only
after they broke away from all current
and accepted methods that any sign of
success rewarded their endeavors.
A acknowledgements Of cheese reveals
the fact that the casein, or green curd,
which is insoluble at first, is gradually
converted in the curing process into SOL
uble substances such as peptones. In this
soluble condition the constituents of the
cheese can be readily digested and it's
value as food consists largely in this
change, which is also accompanied by
the development Of peculiar favors that
are characteristic of different kinds of
cheese. No satisfactory explanation,
however, has been assigned for this Sc
ries of chemical transformations
The production Of the characteristic
havors in the different varieties of
cheese is believed by the Wisconsin in
vestigators to be due to the action of
bacteria. But they feel confident they
can now demonstrate that the funda-
mental change in the casein is brought
about purely by chemical changes dis
associated from living organisms The
discovery of these ferments in milk is
in itself matter of considerable scien-
tific Importance, but when considered
in relation to cheese ripening it has
practical bearing that enhances its the
oretical value
A study of cheese from a bacteriolog-
ical 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 aft
er the cheese is made they grow so lux
uriantly that 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 milk or Tactic acid
organisms are unable to form soluble
substances from insoluble proteids.
Instead Of relying upon heat to de-
stroy all signs of organic life that exist
ed in the milk Drs. Babcock and Rus
sell tried chemicals, like ether and
choloroform, and, much to their sur
prise, they found that the milk itself,
without the power Of any organisms
whatever, had the power of undergoing
a series of changes that were practically
the same as those that take place in the
ripening of cheese. Following up this
clew, they were soon able to demon
strate that this spontaneous digestion
was due to the presence of ferments of
a peculiar character that were inherent
in the milk Itself These ferments,
known technically to scientists as en-
zymes, are peculiar substances of pure
ly unorganized nature, but which at the
same time possess characteristics that
ally them closely to living things.
The processes of digestion i'll the ami
NAL body as we'll as many Of the phe-
nomena that occur in the plant kingdom
are controlled in the main by the action
of these ferments. Most of these en-
Zymes are able to do their "work" in the
presence Of an9sthetios, while such
substances almost Immediately inhibit
the growth of bacteria Thus by keep
ing milk under conditions where bac-
terial action was excluded they were
able to follow the changes that were
solely due to the engines in the milk
itself. A chemical analysis of such
milks at different periods showed the
same kind of decomposition products as
are ordinarily found in we'll ripened
cheese. Moreover, these products grad
ually accumulated in quantity, showing
a progressive action of the ferment.
AS engines readily attach themselves
to solid bodies it was thought that they
might be found in more concentrated
form in the slime that gathers on the
separator bowl after separating the
cream from the milk. When slime was
kept under proper conditions, the same
results were obtained. Finally they
were able to isolate from this material
engines in relatively pure condition,
SO that when these purified ferments
were submitted to test the same action
went on much faster than before. mas
much as the course of the changes that
occurred in milk kept under an@sthet-
les was step for step identical with the
changes that occurred in cheese, it was
thought that the ripening change that
occurred in this latter substance might
also be due to these engines instead Of
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