192 SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF CHEESE-MAKING 



from the hold of the curd, float free in the whey and 

 are consequently lost to the cheese. 



Conditions favoring loss of fat in cheese-making. 



—Among the numerous conditions contributing to 

 an increased loss of fat in cheese-making are the fol- 

 lowing : 



(i) Any condition which interferes with com- 

 plete coagulation of casein by rennet-extract, such 

 as dilution with water, presence of preservatives, 

 as salt, formalin, etc., necessarily causes extra loss of 

 fat. 



(2) There may occur cases of abnormal compo- 

 sition of milk, in which the casein is abnormally 

 low in relation to fat. Attention has already (p. 

 164) been called to this condition as likely to occur 

 in times of drouth. Cheese-makers do not realize 

 the abnormal nature of the milk and so do not ob- 

 serve the precautions necessary in handling milk 

 that is abnormally high in fat in relation to casein. 

 But another condition usually prevails at such times, 

 which makes the losses of fat unavoidable, and that is 

 the presence of bacterial ferments, resulting from the 

 accompanying effects of drouth such as contaminated 

 water supply. 



(3) Failure to keep the fat well distributed 

 through the milk before and after adding rennet 

 results in some accumulation of fat at the surface 

 of the milk, most of which goes into the whey. 



(4) In case of milk containing particles of dried 

 cream or churned fat-granules, there is usually in- 

 creased loss of fat, unless the particles are completely 

 worked back into the form of emulsion by sufficient, 

 but not rapid, warming and careful stirring. 



