350 SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF CHEESE-MAKING 



quantities of water-soluble protein-derived compounds 

 in a given period of time, especially such compounds 

 as paranuclein, caseoses and peptones. 



TRANSIENT AND CUMULATIVE PROD- 

 UCTS IN CHEESE-RIPENING 



In studying the influence of various conditions 

 upon the chemical changes of the protein com- 

 pounds in the normal cheese-ripening process, we 

 have noticed that the compounds which are grouped 

 under the names, paracasein, caseoses and peptones 

 usually vary within comparatively narrow limits 

 and do not appear to accumulate in the cheese in 

 constantly increasing quantities. These compounds 

 do not appear to show much definite regularity 

 in the amounts formed under different con- 

 ditions. On the other hand, amino acids and am- 

 monia accumulate in increasing amounts from the 

 early age of the cheese during the whole process 

 of normal ripening. The difference in the appar- 

 ent behavior of these different classes of com- 

 pounds is most readily explained by regarding the 

 compounds first formed in cheese-ripening as inter- 

 mediate or transient products. Thus, we find para- 

 nuclein, caseoses and peptones present in the earliest 

 stage of cheese-ripening, and they show a tendency 

 to increase somewhat for a period of time and then 

 decrease. Whatever may be the precise chemical 

 relation and order of formation, the point we wish 

 to keep in mind is that the amounts of these com- 

 pounds do not increase regularly or accumulate 

 continuously in the cheese. The extent to which 

 any accumulation occurs in these transient stages 



