The Book of Cheese Part 11

Temperature of room during__________

Condition of cheese after____________________

+Salting:+

Time of_____ Total amt. of salt used_____ Kind of salt_____

Amt. of salt per cheese_____

+Mold inoculation:+

Form of culture used_______________

Method of inoculation______________

Time of inoculation__________

+Remarks on making:+

+Curing:+

Transfer of curing rooms_________________________

Condition of cheese______________________________

Rooms____________________________________________

Dates____________________________________________

+Mold growth:+ Date of first appearance____________________ Purity and vigor____________________________ Date of changing color______________________

+Surface of slimy growth:+ Extent of___________________________________ General character of________________________

+Surface contamination:+ Mold________________________________________ Oidium______________________________________ Yeast_______________________________________ Bacterial___________________________________

+Wrapping:+ Date_______________ Material____________________ Condition of cheese_________________________

+Ripening:+ Rapidity of_________________________________ Texture_____________________________________

+Flavor:+ Ripened curd________________________________ Unripened curd______________________________

+Special treatment and reasons for same:+

Record of treatment by days____________________

Room__________ Date__________ Observations.____________________

1 D_____ 16 D_____ 2 D_____ 17 D_____ 3 D_____ 18 D_____ 4 D_____ 19 D_____ 5 D_____ 20 D_____ 6 D_____ 21 D_____ 7 D_____ 22 D_____ 8 D_____ 23 D_____ 9 D_____ 24 D_____ 10 D_____ 25 D_____ 11 D_____ 26 D_____ 12 D_____ 27 D_____ 13 D_____ 28 D_____ 14 D_____ 29 D_____ 15 D_____ 30 D_____ 31 D_____

+149. Ripening the cheese.+--The cheese is now ready for the ripening rooms (Fig. 20). For this process temperatures between 52 and 58F. are desirable; lower temperatures only delay the process; higher temperatures favor undesirable fermentations. The cheeses rest upon coa.r.s.e matting (Fr. clayons) consisting of round wooden rods about the size of a pencil separated 1-1 inches and held in position by wire strands. a.s.suming cheeses of optimum composition as indicated above, the relative humidity of the ripening rooms should be 86 to 88 per cent.

Higher humidities produce too rapid development of slimy coatings; too low humidity is indicated by drying, shrinkage and the growth of green molds on the surface. A slight and very slow evaporation is demanded; by this the water-content of the cheeses is reduced 3 to 6 per cent in two weeks. During the first two weeks of ripening, the cheeses commonly show some growth of yeast and _Oidium lactis_ first, followed by cottony white areas of Camembert mold (_Penicillium Camemberti_). This mold must be introduced by inoculation in new factories but once firmly established in the factory will propagate itself if conditions are kept favorable. Climatic conditions in most dairy sections of America have been sufficiently unfavorable to make more or less continuous use of pure cultures desirable. At the end of two weeks, Camembert cheeses should show a well-established rind, consisting of a well-matted felt work of mold hyphae through the outer 2 mm. (1/12 inch) of the whole surface of the cheese. More or less of the pale gray-green fruit of the characteristic _Penicillium Camemberti_ can usually be seen. Beginning at about twelve to fourteen days,[52] a softening of the curd is first directly detectable under the rind. This is preceded by the disappearance of the acidity of the curd, which progresses inward. The softening of the curd follows closely the lowering of the acidity. Thus a litmus test taken along the cut face of a Camembert cheese at any stage of softening will always show a sharp acid reaction in the solid sour portion which changes to alkaline just before the softening due to proteolytic action becomes noticeable. These two changes appear to be due to enzymes secreted by the mycelium of the _Penicillium Camemberti_ and _Oidium lactis_ which const.i.tute the most active factors in the ripening. Some accessory bacterial action is indicated but of minor importance in the changes found.

To avoid loss from breaking, after the softening of the curd has fairly begun, the cheeses must be removed from the coa.r.s.e matting to smooth boards where they are watched and turned repeatedly, or as in the more common practice, wrapped at once in parchment paper and boxed. The ripening may be completed in either way. The conditions necessary are such as to favor the extension of slimy areas of bacteria over part or all of the rind to the exclusion of further development of gray-green fruiting areas of mold.

Complete softening may occur in three weeks in cheeses in which evaporation has gone on too slowly. Such cheeses are found to contain 51 to 55 per cent of water when ripe and decay very quickly. If handled properly, the water-content should fall from about 57 per cent at the beginning of ripening to 48 per cent at its completion which should require a minimum period of about four weeks. It is more desirable that a cheese four weeks old show a thin core of sour curd in the center than that it be entirely liquid at that age.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 21.--Very soft Camembert cheese.]

+150. Composition.+--Properly ripe Camembert shows about the following range of composition: Water 47 to 49 per cent; fat 25 to 28 per cent; protein 18 to 21 per cent; salt 2.2 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Variations outside these limits are usually a.s.sociated with less desirable qualities. The approximate limits and characters outlined for Camembert still leave a considerable lat.i.tude for variations in practice which characterize the output of particular factories in a producing group. At one extreme are brands of Camembert cheese which are very soft (Fig.

21), some of them actually liquid when ripe, and which have very strong odor and taste; one such brand has held first place in the trade of certain American cities for years. Another popular brand when fully ripe is well covered with yellow-orange viscid slime[53] but is fairly firm in texture with high flavor; still others show dry moldy surfaces and mild flavors. The product of certain factories is always characterized by the presence and characteristic ammoniacal odor of _Penicillium brevicaule_.

Each of these forms seems to appeal to some cla.s.ses of consumers, so that in handling imported Camembert the trade comes to a.s.sign the product to specific groups of purchasers according to the conditions observed at its arrival from Europe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 22.--Camembert cheese factory at Lisieux, France.

The square windows are seen in the second-floor rooms.]

+151. Factory.+--The type of factory to be used in making and ripening Camembert must be adjusted to the climate. This product originated in the Normandy section of France which is but a few feet above sea level, is swept by winds from the Gulf Stream, and has a narrow range of temperature, with highly humid conditions. In that region, every effort must be made to secure ventilation to carry off the necessary amount of evaporation water. In contrast, most of the dairy sections of America have land instead of sea breezes, much higher alt.i.tudes, much greater extremes of temperature and a lower range of relative humidities. The conditions of an upstairs room full of windows in Normandy (Fig. 22) are most readily reproduced in rooms partly or completely below ground in this country. The industry calls for the production and maintenance of a specific set of working conditions. These are furnished by nature in northern France, probably also in certain Pacific coast areas, but must be artificially obtained where the climate is unfavorable.

+152. Economic factors.+--Camembert cheeses show a yield of about 13 pounds to 100 pounds of milk testing 4 per cent fat. At roughly one-half pound each, the number of cheeses will be approximately twenty-six.

a.s.suming no losses and a wholesale price of 15 cents each, the wholesale value of 100 pounds of milk would be $3.90. The labor cost of production is high, the package represents (box, wrapping and label) at least 1 cents a cheese. The time between the purchase and the consumption of the cheese will average about one month. Few cheeses actually remain this length of time in the possession of the maker. This short investment period, therefore, is a distinct advantage of Camembert. Among disadvantages, however, the extremely perishable character of the fully ripe cheese makes provision of an adequate and constant market essential. Losses due to failures in manufacturing or ripening conditions are also frequent. Excessive heat in summer and very cold periods in winter are both unfavorable. The Camembert-maker cannot, therefore, use the cheapest milk of the summer months at all and the losses entailed by failure of control in winter fall on the most costly milk of the year. Camembert requires, therefore, careful selection of the location for manufacture and ripening, effective control of conditions throughout the period and adequate marketing facilities.

Camembert at its best is one of the finest of all cheeses; when bad, it becomes quickly inedible and is a total loss.

+153. French Brie.+[54]--Brie cheese has its center of production in Seine-et-Marne, east of Paris in northern France. The apparatus, arrangement of the factories and details of manipulation differ from those described for Camembert, but the final product is in flavor and texture closely related to Camembert. Brie cheeses are the same thickness as Camembert, 1 to 1 inches; in diameter, however, there are three or more sizes varying from 8 to 16 inches, or even greater.

The largest cheeses weigh 5 to 6 pounds. As in Camembert, practices of making and ripening vary to such a degree as to produce various qualities of product. These run from whole milk through all shades of skimming. Perhaps the best established practice puts the cheese-making room next to the stalls of the cows. The milk is drawn, strained directly into the curdling cans and renneted while still warm,--86-92 F. (30-33 C.). No lactic starter is added and no ripening period is given to the milk. The other manipulations differ only in detail from Camembert. Ripening of Brie follows the same course with the same organic agents, namely, Camembert mold (_Penicillium Camemberti_) and _Oidium lactis_ with the accompaniment of a mixture of slimy organisms upon the surface of the cheese. The process admits of many minor modifications each capable of affecting the product in a characteristic way. The judgment and skill of the maker is given a wide opportunity to establish and work toward a particular ideal of appearance and texture and flavor. Brands with characteristic qualities, therefore, command their own market.

Brie as known in France must not be confused with the American "d'Isigny," or with the particular sizes of that type which have been called Brie on account of diameter only. Very little Brie as known in France has been made in America and only a limited amount has been imported for very restricted trade.

+154. Coulommiers.+--Another member of the Camembert group is called, from its place of origin, Coulommiers. This form is made at the same thickness as Camembert and about 5 inches in diameter. It appears as either a ripened or unripe cheese. As a ripened cheese, Coulommiers is not essentially different from Camembert except that some brands are made without salting. As a cheese eaten unripe, it has certain advantages over the other cheeses with the flavor of sour milk only. The cottage and (American) Neufchatel group of cheeses comprises the best known forms with the acid flavor. These cheeses are very perishable in nature. On the other hand, Coulommiers as eaten fresh can be held and used over a much longer time without loss. Coulommiers[55] in this sense is simply a fresh Camembert. Such a cheese, when ready for the salting process, is a firm sour ma.s.s, close textured, almost impervious to air and but slowly permeable to liquids. Spoilage in such a cheese begins only on the outside, and not throughout the ma.s.s as in cottage cheese or Neufchatel. Successive portions of such a cheese can be removed daily over a considerable period with no loss of substance aside from slight sc.r.a.ping at times and little or no change in flavor. This product has very tangible merit for manufacture and use on the farm in many sections of America.

CHAPTER IX

_SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA_

A bacterially-ripened series of cheeses parallels the mold-ripened group as typified by Camembert. Although the varieties overlap, these may be roughly grouped as: (1) those made from friable or soft curd; (2) those made from firm or rubbery curd. In the first group, the curd is set at 86 F., or below; in the second, the rennet is added at 90 F. or above.

In the first, the lower temperature and long curdling time with ripened milk gives a soft friable curd which may be toughened somewhat by cutting and stirring in the whey. This section is typified by d'Isigny, American Brie, Liederkranz. In the second, curdling of unripened milk at temperatures of 90 F. or above insures a smooth elastic curd which fuses more or less completely into the firm rubbery ma.s.s typified by freshly made Limburger.

+155. The Isigny group.+--A series of names, d'Isigny, Brie, Brie d'Isigny, combined with trade names, are used for a domestic cheese, made in a small number of factories distributed over New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and California. The cheeses sold under the separate varietal names differ only in diameter; their thickness is fairly uniform; the process of manufacture and ripening with resultant textures and flavors furnishes no fundamental varietal characters, although the products of the several factories show noticeable differences in market quality. D'Isigny, while the name of a French town famous for b.u.t.ter production, is not used to designate a cheese in France. It may, therefore, be accepted as a French name arbitrarily applied to a domestic product. Brie as used in France is a markedly different cheese (p. 131), and the name should be dropped from this form as made in America. As used for a member of this series made in America, it merely means cheese 7 to 15 inches in diameter. The cheese partakes of the characters of French Livarot, and of Pont l'Eveque without exactly reproducing either form.

The milk varies from separator skim to whole milk, with resultant differences in quality. Freedom from gas is essential to the best results. The milk is curdled at 85 to 86 F. with sufficient rennet to produce a very firm curd within a period of one and one-half hours. Curd is then cut in two directions, allowed to stand a few minutes or gently agitated to produce a very slight toughness or "worked" condition, then scooped into hoops 4 to 5 inches in height and varying in diameter from 2 to 15 inches according to the size selected for manufacture.

To aid in the escape of whey, three rows of holes 1/12 inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the row are made in each hoop. The hoops are arranged upon draining tables with more or less corrugated surface, which for best drainage should be covered with matting. The cheeses are allowed to drain without pressure. They are commonly turned the second morning, although they are sometimes solid enough to turn within the first day. When fully drained, the cheeses are salted by rubbing coa.r.s.e salt on the surface, after which they stand an extra day. They are then arranged upon shelves in a ripening room held between 50 and 60 F.

with humidity so high that evaporation is kept at a minimum. In this room, a surface slime develops quickly. This consists of bacteria of several forms, yeasts, _Oidium lactis_ and accidental species of other molds. During this ripening, the cheeses are turned, rubbed with the hands, washed with salt water and sc.r.a.ped if infected with molds which produce colored colonies. In the course of ripening, the slimy surface layer acquires a yellowish orange color with the strong odor and taste characteristic of the series.

Brands of d'Isigny are made from every grade between separator skim and whole milk. They reach the market in condition all the way from "Kosher"

forms[56] which are eaten entirely unripe, to brands which approximate the qualities of Limburger and others which approach Port du Salut.