CHAPTER XI 

 THE HARD CHEESES 



THE hard cheeses form a great series of groups, whose 

 most prominent physical character is their firm or hard 

 texture. This is correlated with comparatively low 

 water-content, which is usually between 30 and 40 per 

 cent. Although certain varieties occasionally test above 

 40 per cent water, this deviation is accompanied by 

 quick ripening and rapid spoilage. These varieties of 

 cheese are staple products with long marketable periods ; 

 therefore they may be handled in large lots, shipped, 

 carted and stored freely without the losses such treat- 

 ment would entail in soft cheese. The retailer frequently 

 buys hard cheese by the ton, not by the cheese or by 

 the box. 



In making, these varieties are characterized as cooked 

 and pressed cheeses. Although both the heating of a 

 curd and the pressing of a newly made cheese occur among 

 semi-hard forms, these practices appear in their most 

 typical forms in the hard cheeses. 



The hard cheeses show two types of texture. A cut 

 cheese may appear smooth, free from holes or with a few 

 angular cracks or seams, or it may show round holes or 

 "eyes." In the smooth textured forms every effort is 

 made to prevent gassy fermentations, usually by control- 

 ling the fermentation of the curd in the making process. 



172 



