The sea coast echo., 1903-05-23
A CHEESE BACILI4I HUNT
IF 1T SUCCEEDS FAMOUS BRANDS
MAY BE MADE HERE.

Other Soft Cheesca--Hope to Rival
the Products OF European Makers.
An investigation is now in progress
at Wesleyan university, Middletown,
Conn, under the direction of Prof. II.
| w. Conn, with the purpose of ferret
ing out the secrets Of European soft
cheese manufacture. 1t Is hoped that
these secrets will be discovered soon
and that the country will then be able
to rival Europe in the production OF
all the cheese dellcacies that the
American now gets from abroad.
In the two laboratories of the univer-
sity this investigation is In progress
every day. The inquiry really began
as far back as 1894 when the study of
the bacteriology OF milk and milk prod
ucts was started. From that time up
to the present day there has been con-
slant research into this subject until
now the Investigations have entered
the field OF cheese manufacture.
Prof. Conn made eight years ago.
when he was prying into the bacteri-
illogical mysteries of milk, the discov-
cry of the bacilli commercially called
Bacilli 43. This is the bacillus which
Is necessary for the manufacture of
butter and It Is grown or cultivated
now in the laboratories OF Wesleyan
and sold to dairymen all over the
United States.
Formerly the manufacture of butter
was an uncertain process with vary
ing results. Good butter was the out
come when the right bacteria were
present in the ingredients. but fre-
quently poor butter resulted because
of the presence of bad bacilli, which
spoiled the butter. Prof. Conn discov-
| cred the bacteria which he called Ba-
| cilli d3 and which II was found would
ensure good butter in butter making
when present In sufficient quantities.
The secret of soft cheese making
Is a meteorological one and Prof.
Conn and Prof. Esten, who Is assist
| Ing him in this work, are now making
experiments to determine just what
meteorological changes produce the
different soft cheeses of European
countries. To this end. samples of
Limburger, Brie. Neufchatel, Camem-
bert and Roquefort cheeses, together
with several brands not so well known
to the American public, are now be-
ing examined at the laboratory. II is
the aim of the professors to secure
samples of these cheeses in different
stages of ripeness SO as to study
the meteorological changes.
In speaking of the work Prof. Esten
said:
"a few Of the seft cheeses of Europe
are manufactured in this country.
Camembert Brie and Neufchatel are
now made in the United States, but
tho process is kept secret. The pres
ent manufacturers probably learned
the secret from the Europeans and
have carefully guarded 1t. The Unit
ed States department of agriculture
is In hopes, by means of the Wesleyan
experiments, to find out some of these
secrets and to give them to the public
so that soft cheeses, which are now
so expensive, may be manufactured
so cheaply and abundantly here that
they may be within the reach of ALL
1t is hoped also to add perhaps some
new varieties to the present list of
soft cheeses.
Experiments at Wesleyan with the
European and American varieties of
Brie cheese show concusively that
they are ripened by the same organ
ism. We have also found that the blue
mould which is present in Roquefort
cheese Is penicilium. There are
moulds Of different colors in different
cheeses, some having greenish cast
and some showing a cream color un-
der the microscope.
THE simplest form of soft cheese
is the Dutch cheese. This is spontane-
ously soured milk and the flavor is
given to It by the tactic acid and what
other organisms have been growing.
THE flavors of the different compli-
Gated cheeses are produced by organ.
isms acting on the cheese, Pure case
in, the precipitate in sour milk. has
very little flavor Of itself. The flavor
Is contributed by the agent which pre-
cipitates It,"
Ordinarily pure butter fat has no
favor, the flavor being given to 1t by
the organism present. Casein Is pre-.
| cipitated from milk In several ways.
Milk allowed to sour by itself precipi-
tates the casein by Tactic acid. The
casein is sometimes precipitated by
means of rennet and also by means of
acids. as Tactic. sulphuric and hydro
! chloric."
1t was not until 1896 that the dis
coyery was made in this country of
the bacillus which sours milk. Prof.
Esten discovered it in the laboratory
of Wesleyan University while making
experiments with milk and milk pro-
ducts. The bacillus was named Bac-
ierum acidi lactici.
In the curdled milk there are pres.
ent besides the bacterium acidi lactici
a small proportion of the bacteria lac
It's aerogenes which give off gas com.
posed OF carbon dioxide and pure hy-
drogen. These two which are present
in the early stages of the milk. The
organisms which are driven out leave
4
their flavor in the casein when II is
finally precipitated.
Prof. Esten in discussing the bacte,
riology of milk said:
"The different brands OF milk vary
greatly in the number of bacteria pres
ent. The very purest milk contains
from 1000 to 10000 bacteria to the
cubic centimetre and they run up to
the millions in numbers. One brand of
milk examined recently at the labora.
tory showed 100000 bacteria. Yet
this milk was being sold as fresh, pure
milk
The presence of these bacilli is due
In a great measure to the lack OF
cleanliness and care used in looking
after the milk. A brand of milk con.
tanning 100000 bacteria is considered
a very fair brand Of milk. One large
dairy concern is. however, so careful
in respect to cleanliness that 1t has
reduced the number oY hacilii ~ rno