New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 213 



V. PKEVENTION OF LOSS OF MOISTURE IN CURING 



CHEESE. 



From the data previously presented, it has been seen that loss 

 of weight in cheese curing is due to lack of control of tempera- 

 ture and moisture in the curing-room. Three methods or sys- 

 tems have been proposed for the purpose of controlling these 

 conditions or obviating the need of controlling them: 



(1) Immediate sale and removal of green cheese. 



(2) Central curing-rooms for the use of several factories. 



(3) Special curing-room in each factory. 



IMMEDIATE SALE AND REMOVAL OF GRETON CHEESE. 



It was formerly a common custom to keep cheese at the 

 factory for thirty days or more before selling it. For some 

 time there has been a tendency to dispose of cheese at more 

 frequent intervals, sales and shipments being made, in some 

 cases, of cheese a week old. There appears to be an increasing 

 desire to place cheese in the hands of buyers just as soon as they 

 were willing to take it. Many buyers who have cold-storage 

 facilities prefer to remove the cheese from the factory before 

 it has had a chance to deteriorate under the adverse conditions 

 of curing commonly present in factory curing-rooms. The sys- 

 tem of removing cheese by buyers from the factory when less 

 than a week old has the advantage for the cheese-maker of 

 relieving him from all responsibility in re.lation to the curing 

 process. There is, however, under such a plan the disadvantage 

 of turning over to the bu3^er all the advantage that comes from 

 increase of value as a result of good curing. With proper 

 curing facilities, the cheese could be retained by the factory and 

 held until it had increased very materially in value as a result 

 of curing under good conditions. When cheese is sold green, 

 or nearly so, the opportunity for increased profits, due to proper 

 curing, is wholly lost. 



CENTRAL CURING-ROOMS. 



Four or five years ago Drs. Babcock and Russell made the sug- 

 gestion that buildings, centrally located with reference to 



