15 



moisture, and total casein soluble, as afifected by the two quantities of salt used, 

 are selected. The twelve cheese were examined twice — once when they were 

 two, three, and four months old, and again when five, six, and seven months 

 old.' The results reported under two and five, three and six, four and seven 

 months are from the same cheese; and as there were two pairs of cheese each 

 month, each result is an average obtained from two cheese. The following 

 are the results: 



Efifect of different quantities of salt on the amount of moisture and salt 

 retained, and on the rate of decomposition of the casein of cheese. 



*From one cheese only. 



According to these results, one-half pound more salt decreased the amount 

 of moisture by nearly one per cent. It also retarded the rate at which casein 

 was changed to soluble compounds. The amount of salt retained in ripe cheese 

 is not in proportion to the quantity added. If the heavier salted cheese re- 

 tained salt at the same rate as the lighter salted ones, they would have con- 

 tained 2.03 per cent, instead of 1.84. Two years ago Dr. Van Slyke, New 

 York State Experiment Station, Geneva, drew attention to results similar to 

 those just given*.^ His experiments were conducted with cheese ripened at 70 

 degrees Fah., while those used in this experiment were ripened at a tempera- 

 ture of 40 degrees Fah. 



Conclusions. 



1. The cheese ripened in cold storage at a temperature of about 38 degrees 

 were much superior in quality to those ripened in an ordinary ripening room 

 at a temperature of about 62 degrees. The chief improvement is in flavor and 

 texture. The cheese ripened in cold storage have a mild, clean flavor and 

 silky texture, while those ripened in the usual way were more liable to be 

 "ofif flavor" and "mealy" in texture, especially when from three to six months 

 old, at which time those ripened in cold storage are beginning to get in good 

 condition for eating. These results correspond with those obtained in 1901. 



2. If we measure the ripeness of the cheese by the amount of casein 

 changed to compounds soluble in water, the cheese kept at the higher tem- 

 perature were as ripe at the end of one month as those kept at a lower tem- 

 perature were at the end of four months. 



3. The cheese placed in the ordinary ripening room ripened much faster 

 during the_ first month, a little faster during the second month, but more 

 slowly durmg the succeeding months than those placed in cold storage. 



♦Report of Ontario Dairymen's Association for 1901. 



