New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 267 



salt for 1000 pounds of milk. Then it should be kept at a tem- 

 perature between 60° F. and 70° F., if it is to be placed in the 

 hands of consumers in one month or six weeks, and the atmos- 

 phere of the curing-room should have a humidity of 75 to 85 per 

 ct. of saturation. However, it should be stated that cheese made 

 to ripen quickly gives better commercial results when ripened at 

 a lower temperature than 60° F. and held a longer time. 



For a slow-ripening cheese, not more than 2^ ounces of rennet- 

 extract, such as Hansen's, should be used for 1000 pounds of 

 milk, and about 2 to 2^ pounds of salt. The other conditions 

 that influence the moisture content of cheese, such as the tem- 

 perature of heating the curd, the fineness of cutting curd, the 

 amount of acid developed in the curd, cheddaring, etc., should be 

 well under control, so as to produce a cheese containing, when 

 fresh from the press, about 37 per ct. of water. For ripening, it 

 should be kept at a temperature below 50° F. in a fairly moist 

 atmosphere for a period of 3 to 6 months or more. 



According to results given in Bulletins Nos. 184 and 234, 

 cheese that ripens slowly is of higher commercial value than 

 cheese ripened more cjuickly. The commercial life of cheese 

 made to ripen quickly is much shorter than that of cheese made 

 to ripen slowly; in other words, quick-ripening cheese must be 

 consumed at an earlier age, since, after once reaching its best 

 commercial condition, it deteriorates in quality more rapidly than 

 slow-ripening cheese. 



(2) Relation of conditions of ripening to flavor in cheese. — In- 

 crease of temperature favors a more rapid development of cheese- 

 flavor, but the continuation of such a condition causes rapid de- 

 terioration of flavor. Sharpness of flavor is usually met with only 

 in cheese cured above 60° F. High moisture content favors a 

 more rapid development of cheese flavor and also more rapid 

 development of objectionable flavors, especially when accom- 

 panied by higher temperature. Absence of salt in cheese is, in 

 our experience, invariably accompanied by the presence of bitter 

 flavor, the intensity increasing with increase of temperature. In- 

 creased amounts of salt, other conditions being uniform, tend to 

 a slower formation of cheese flavor. Excess of acid in cheese 

 delays the development of cheese flavor, while the sour taste 



