34 ' RErORT OF THE BACTERIOLOGIST OF THE 



liave flayers peculiar to themselves, and these flavors are the 

 fundamental elements in what we designate as the flavor of the 

 ripening cheese. In addition to these fundamental ones, there 

 are special flavors in every cheese, on the basis of which it is 

 classed as poor to extra, and these difl'erences have not yet been 

 accounted for solely on the basis of enzym action. 



The present state of knowledge of the subject does not justify 

 dogmatic statements as to the origin of those delicate and agree- 

 able flavors which are so highly prized in cheese, but the trend 

 of evidence favors bacterial activity. 



YEAST AS A NEW FACTOR IN CHEESE FLAVOR. 



A factor which in the past has been almost entirely ignored 

 in work upon milk and cheese problems is the relation of yeast 

 to the dairy industry. The occasional occurrence of yeasts in 

 Cheddar cheese has been previously noted by a number of in- 

 vestigators, but the fact that they may at times play an impor- 

 tant part in the matter of flavor has been very generally over 

 looked. 



As the result of investigations detailed in the following article 

 on sweet flavor it is ascertained that yeasts probably play a 

 considerable role in the production of certain objectionable 

 flavors which are annually the source of great financial losses in 

 the State of New York. 



The real need of exact knowledge on a subject of so much 

 practical importance as that of flavor is evident. The goal to 

 be attained, particularly in the case of cheese, is a clear under- 

 standing of the causes which produce the most desirable flavor, 

 and of the best manner of assuring their constant operation. 

 In attaining this end those well marked objectionable flavors 

 which appear only at intervals, and offer least resistance to an 

 analysis of the conditions under which they have been produced, 

 become the natural avenue of attack upon the larger problem. 



The cases of fishy flavor in milk and bitterness in Neufchatel 

 cheese herein described, may be taken as types of many of the 

 sporadic troubles which perplex the dairyman. The methods 



