THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



CHAPTER I 

 GENERAL STATEMENT ON CHEESE 



CHEESE is a solid or semi-solid protein food product 

 manufactured from milk. Its solidity depends on the 

 curdling or coagulation of part or all of the protein and 

 the expulsion of the watery part or whey. The coag- 

 ulum or curd so formed incloses part of the milk-serum 

 (technically whey) or watery portion of the iftilk, part 

 of the salts, part or all of the fat, and an aliquot part 

 of the milk-sugar. The loss in manufacture includes 

 a small fraction of the protein and fat, the larger propor- 

 tion of the water, salts and milk-sugar. 



1. Nature of cheese. Milk of itself is an exceedingly 

 perishable product. Cheese preserves the most important 

 nutrient parts of the milk in condition for consumption 

 over a much longer period. The duration of this period 

 and the ripening and other changes taking place depend 

 very closely on the composition of the freshly made 

 cheese. There is an intimate relation between the water, 

 fat, protein and salt-content of the newly made cheese 

 and the ripening processes which produce the particular 

 flavors of the product when it is ready for the consumer. 

 This relation is essentially biological. A cheese contain- 



