RIPENING OF CHEESE 315 



to the formation and escape of carbon dioxld (p. 

 334) and other gases can be neglected for practical 

 purposes. 



CONDITIONS AFFECTING LOSS OF WATER 

 IN CHEESE-RIPENING 



The rapidity and extent of loss of moisture in 

 cheese during the process of ripening vary with sev- 

 eral conditions, chief of which are the. following : ( i ) 

 The temperature of the room, (2) the pro[>ortion of 

 water- vapor present in the air of the room, (3) protec- 

 tion of surface of cheese, (4) size and shape of the 

 cheese, (5) the percentage of moisture originally pres- 

 ent in the cheese, and (6) the texture of the cheese. 

 The data used in illustrating these points are taken 

 largely from the results of investigations carried on 

 at the New York experiment station. 



Temperature and loss of weight. — We present, 

 first, data showing the influence of temperature upon 

 the loss of moisture at six different temperatures, viz : 

 55°, 60°, 6s°, 70°, 75° and 80° F. 



The cheeses used in furnishing data in the table on 



page 316 were 15 inches in diameter and weighed 



about 65 pounds, the usual standard size of the most 



common type of American cheddar cheese intended 



t for export trade. 



These results show an increase in loss of weight 

 with increase of temperature. As betweein 55° and 

 80° F., the loss increased on an average i ounce per 

 100 pounds of cheese for each additional degree of 

 temperature during the first 4 weeks ; 2 ounces per 

 100 pounds of cheese for each degree during the first 

 2 months ; and 3^ ounces at the end of 3 months. 



