CONDITIONS AFFECTING CHEMICAL 

 CHANGES IN CHEESE-RIPENING.* 



L. L. VAN SLYKE and E. B. HART. 



SUMMARY. 



1. Object. — This bulletin contains the results of study relating to 

 some of the more prominent conditions that influence the chemical 

 changes taking place in cheese during the ripening process. 



2. Influence of Time. — The amount of soluble nitrogen compounds 

 increases as cheese ages. The rate of formation of these compounds 

 is more rapid in the early stages of ripening, about two-thirds being 

 formed during the first 3 months, and over 90 per ct. in the first 9 

 months, of an 1 8-month period of study. 



3. Effect of Different Temperatures. — Soluble nitrogen com.pounds 

 increase in cheese-ripening quite closely in proportion to increase 

 of temperature. Between the limits of 32° F. and 70° F., there was 

 an increase of 0.5 per ct. of soluble nitrogen compounds for an in- 

 crease of one degree of temperature. The amido compounds and 

 ammonia were more abundantly formed and they steadily accumu- 

 lated in cheese cured at higher temperatures. 



4. Influence of Moisture Content of Cheese. — Cheese containing 

 more moisture, other conditions being uniform, generally contains 

 larger amounts of soluble nitrogen compounds, especially after the 

 early stages of ripening. 



5. Influence of Size of Cheese. — Cheeses of large size usually form 

 soluble nitrogen compounds more rapidly than smaller cheeses under 



*A reprint of Bulletin No. 236. 



