168 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



The sides should be square and not bulged. The cheese 

 should have a clean, characteristic Brick cheese flavor. 

 The body and texture should be mellow and smooth and 

 when rubbed between the thumb and forefinger, should 

 break down like cold butter. The color should be uni- 

 form. The cheese should contain the proper amount of 

 salt and moisture. One of the worst faults with Brick 

 cheese is bad flavor. This is many times due to the 

 cheese-maker not using clean flavored starter. It may 

 also be due to bad flavored milk. A Brick cheese-maker 

 has no means of controlling gassy fermentations. These 

 show themselves in the bad flavor of the cheese and in 

 the porous body. They also cause the cheese to bulge. 

 If detected, gassy milk should be rejected. If too much 

 acid is developed, a sour cheese is the result. This will 

 not cure normally and usually has a sour flavor. The 

 body will be brittle and mealy. If too much salt is used, 

 the cheese njay have a salty taste and it will cure very 

 slowly. If not enough salt is used, the cheese may cure 

 too rapidly and undesirable flavors and fermentations 

 develop. The cheese must have the proper moisture- 

 content; if too much moisture is present, the cheese 

 cures too fast and is soft and pasty in body ; if not enough 

 moisture, then the reverse is true. Tabulation of cheeses 

 of special quality, as submitted in scoring contests, show 

 an average water-content of 37 to 38 per cent, with 

 occasional cheeses verging toward Limburger in texture 

 and flavor with 40 to 42 per cent water, and others in- 

 distinguishable from Cheddar, with water-content as 

 low as 34 per cent. 



The Wisconsin Cheese-makers Association uses the 

 following score-card for the judging of Brick cheese on a 

 scale of 100 : 



