CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 95 



French process were early dropped. The essentials were 

 made the basis of a successful factory practice which 

 has been widely adopted. TJie American factory prac- 

 tice is discussed here and the French process briefly 

 considered under the heading Ripened Neufchatel. (See 

 Chapter VIII.) 



116. Domestic or American Neufchatel cheeses are 

 soft, have clean sour milk (lactic acid) flavor and are 

 quickly perishable. In all but the coldest weather, they 

 require refrigeration to reduce deterioration and loss. 

 They range in fat-content from traces only to 50 per 

 cent and more ; in water from 40 to 75 per cent, accord- 

 ing to the milk used. In texture Neufchatel is smooth, 

 free from gas, free from lumps or roughness when rubbed 

 between the fingers. This flavor and texture is obtained 

 by a combination of slow rennet curdling with develop- 

 ing acidity. No further ripening is permitted. 



117. The factory. Neufchatel factories require 

 the standard dairy equipment for receiving, weighing, 

 testing, separating, heating, pasteurizing and cooling the 

 milk. Since many factories produce several products, 

 the same general dairy equipment may serve for all. In 

 addition to such equipment, Neufchatel requires a cur- 

 dling apparatus which can be held at 70-75 F. This 

 may be a room properly controlled, or a tank where tem- 

 perature control is obtained by water and steam. For 

 draining, a room kept at 60 F. gives nearly the ideal 

 temperature, which must be supplemented by relative 

 humidity high enough to prevent the exposed surface of 

 curd from drying during periods of twelve to twenty-four 

 hours. This requires almost a saturated atmosphere. 

 A room with special molding machinery is required and 

 tables for wrapping, labeling and boxing the product 



