Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-08-16


you may not realize that this delicacy
has quite hold on the American people.
Switzerland ships 20,0O0.00O pounds Of
1t to this country every year, and Swiss
cheeseries over here produce another
20 900 900, though up to now a good deal
of the domestic product has been
equipped with a very inferior grade of
holes.
The formula for making the cheese
has never been a secret, but it was
always supposed that the air or grass
OF Switzerland contained some magic in
gredient necessary to produce the best
holes, and until recently the results OBJ
tanned by cheese makers in this country
have served to confirm the impression.
HOLES MUST
BE RIGHT.
Holes, or eyes as they are technically
called. are so important in Swiss cheese
because they are an indication Of good
favor.
If the eyes are large. round, glossy
at the edges. and evenly distributed the
cheese has all the earmarks of a master
piece.
II the holes are fat. small or al
together lacking. the cheese is likely to
be deficient in flavor.
Some years ago the dairy division or
the department OF agriculture decided
to find out why our home grown Swiss
cheese lacked the proper characteristics,
as it so often did.
Inquiries put to Swiss dairymen in
Wisconsin showed that the Swiss cheese
makers knew only the formula to follow
and nothing Of the chemistry involved
They attributed the less satisfactory
results achieved in this country to the
different surroundings. though in Wis
consin they found conditions most sim
liar to their native land.
Even a visit to Switzerland revealed
no sure fire way OF getting the holes into
the cheese.
So the cheese experts went back to
their laboratories.
From a frst-class imported Swiss
cheese they extracted several thousand
kinds Of bacteria, and each of these bugs
they put to the test to see which one was
the hole maker.
Different mediums had to be used.
which complicated matters, but finally.
after twelve years. the elusive bug was
located.
1t must not be inferred that the bugs
mentioned eat their way methodically
carefully arranged holes.
Gases are produced by the action of
certain bacteria in the curds. and the
holes result from the liberation of the
gas.
In Switzerland. where this particular
kind of cheese has been made for so
many years, the organisms which develop
the best holes and flavor have become
plentiful
Whether they originate in the air. milk
or grass is not thoroughly understood.
In this country they must be supplied
by cultures until we get good start in
Swiss cheesemsking.
BUGS" NOW
CATALoGUED.
With the bugs catalogued, it is com
parstively easy to diagnose cases in
which an inferior cheese has been OBJ
tanned.
Pinholes. so often seen, are the result
Of poor grades OF milk. improper han
ding, or lack OF the necessary cultures.
The dairy division has found that the
use of the missing bacteria in cultures
will overcome some OF the defects and
improve the favor of the cheese.
While the Swiss cheese mystery was
being scientifically unraveled, advances
have been made In another line of cheese
history.
The dairy division reports that a way
to make the Roquefort variety in this
country has been worked out.
Roquefort cheese, you know, has for
centuries been produced around the lit
tie French village of Roquefort.
The flavor depends upon the develop
ment of a certain kind of mold which is
entirely different from the ordinary green
mold which might be sprinkled on, or
from the mold which cheese on q pantry
shelf acquires.
RoQuefort mold is produced by means
of the peculiar caves in southern France.
These caves have been formed by the
slipping rocks at the base of the noun
tains
Currents Of cool air circulate steadily
through the underground grottoes keep
ing the atmosphere damp and fresh.
1t takes two months to get Roquefort
cheese ready for the market, and n good
part of this time the cheese spends on
shelves in the caves, acquiring the i'm
portant mold.
In France. the mold is started by
special kind Of bread which is moistened,
allowed to mold. dried and ground into
powder. This powder Is sprinkled over
each layer of curds.
Holes are punched in the layer, so that
the mold from the bread, aided by the
dampness OF the atmosphere, spreads
through the cheese until the entire layer
is veioen with blush green threads of
mold.
TOOK FRENCH
CHEESE MOLD.
The government scientists started their
mold by taking some from piece Of
French cheese and inserting 1t into loaf
of bread.
This produced very good bread
crumbs, but America had nothing Ike
the caves OF Roquefort.
The scientists tried ordinary refrig-
Grafton. but the mold failed to develop
properly, and In many cases did not
develop at all.
Finally. they realized that the exact
cave conditions--temperatu humidity
and ventilation-must be reproduced
artificially and after years of experiment
tai work special air conditioning ap-
paratus was perfected which took the
place Of the caves.
Besides the caves of Roquefort, the
French thought that Sleeps milk was
a requisite for making Roquefort cheese.
Half a million sheep are pastured
rear Roquefort just to provide milk
for the nearby cheeseries.
Dairymen here tried cows milk as
basis for Roquefort cheese, and 1t was
successful.
With the equipment developed by the
government, Roquefort cheese has in
the last year been made commercially
from cows milk for the nrst time IN
this country
1t has been put on the markst 70 be