442 Jniimn} of Ar/ricii/t iiir. \' ictori'i. [10 July, 1917. 



from the stomachs of young milk-fed calves, which ought to be rea-.ed 

 to maturity. Moreover, the pepsin of the stomachs of practically all the 

 sheep slaughtered in Australia and New Zealand at present is lost. 

 The pepsin used so far for cheese-making is of American origin, althougli 

 ■we obtained quite satisfactory results with an English ]x>wder pepsin of 

 1-2,500 strength, but we had to use four times the an'.ount of the powder 

 to' give the same results as the flake. 



When cheese is freshly made the casein is in an insoluble or indi- 

 gestible form. The process of ripening consists in converting the in- 

 •soluble casein into the soluble form. This process is not yet thoroughly 

 understood, but much time and energy has been devoted to its investiga- 

 tion, and some points have been definitely decided. It was ati one time 

 thought that the ripening changes were due to bacterial action, but it 

 was proved that in the absence of these organisms the casein was con- 

 verted into the soluble form. It was proved that tliis was due to 

 enzymes of rennet called rennin and pepsin. The difference between 

 these is not rightly understood, in fact, soii.e leading chemists consider 

 that pe{>siu is the purified fonn of the feruient, and rennet is the cruile 

 form containing impurities. However, experiments have shown that 

 there is something in rennet extract that is not present in commercial 

 pepsin, but this is not necessai-y to the projier ripening of Cheddar 

 cheese, for in the presence of acid, as is always the case in the manufac- 

 ture of Cheddar cheese, the action of pepsin is able to account for all 

 the changes observed in the case of rennet extract. Also commercial 

 pepsin is a stronger digestive agent than rennet extract. 



It will be seen, therefore, that there is no apparent reason why com- 

 mercial pepsin should not give satisfactory results when used instead of 

 rennet exitract. 



Cheese Other th.4.\ Cheddar. 



As mentioned above, there are a great many different! kinds of cheesa 

 made, but Cheddar is the most useful and universal. Even Holland, 

 so long noted for its Gouda and Edam cheese, have lately produced a 

 considerable amount of Cheddar. It has been suggested that some of 

 the soldiers, while in England,- should go to some of the dairy schools, 

 and learn how to make Stilton, Gouda, Gruyere, and others, with the 

 object of undertaking their manufacture on their return to this country. 

 This would be largely a waste of time, as the demand for all cheese rtlier 

 than Cheddar is so small, owing to the population being comparatively 

 small, that it would noti be worth any one's while going to the expense 

 of installing the necessary plant. The bulk of the Stilton consumed in 

 New Zealand and Australia is the prcduot of one small fac'.ory in New 

 Zealand treating only about 600 gallons of milk per day. The leading 

 cheese factoi-y company in New Zealand decided to manufacture Stilton, 

 and brought out an ex,pert maker from England. The result was that, 

 after making Stilton for a season, they could nob find sale for it, 

 although a good quality, and gave it up after a heavy monetary loss. 



In this State some years ago a leading dairy firm employed an expert 

 t'> make Gouda cheese, but their exjierience was no more satisfactory 

 than that of the New Zealand company. When the population is many 

 times what it is at present in Australia it may pay to undertake th? 

 manufacture of other kinds of cheese. In the meantime we would b'' 

 better to devote our energies to an article for which we are sure of 

 remunerative returns. 



