THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 279 



necessary to skim (separate) part of the milk, thus re- 

 ducing the ratio of fat to casein. Analysis of good Swiss 

 cheeses shows that the desired texture is more uniformly 

 obtained with milk in which the fat is less than the normal 

 ratio. This assumes that the manufacturing loss is kept 

 down so that the fat removed offsets the extra loss from 

 curd-breaking. 



268. Rennet extract. Most Swiss cheese-makers pre- 

 fer to make their own rennet extract from the stomach. 

 This results in a product which is not uniform in strength 

 and so requires good judgment to secure the desired coagu- 

 lation in the allotted time. Some cheese-makers roll 

 fifteen to twenty well salted calves' stomachs together 

 and dry them. From this they cut off a definite amount 

 each day to be soaked for twenty-four hours in two to 

 five quarts of whey at 86 F. Four quarts of this 

 solution added to 2000 pounds of milk at 90 F. should 

 produce a curd ready for cutting in twenty to thirty 

 minutes. 



269. Starter. Makers do not agree as to the use of 

 " starters " for Swiss cheese. Those opposed to such 

 use say that a starter will give the cheese a decided 

 Cheddar flavor, while those in favor of it state that it 

 will control undesirable fermentations, and that, with 

 the use of a starter, it is possible to make Swiss cheese 

 throughout the year, and have uniform success. 



Doane, 1 working with Bacillus Bulgarians as a starter, 

 found that these starters did not always overcome the 

 undesirable fermentations. If a cheese-maker is having 

 difficulty to develop the holes or " eyes," this may be 



1 Doane, C. F., and E. E. Eldredge, The use of Bacillus Bul- 

 garicus in starters for making Swiss or Emmenthal cheese, Dept 

 of Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 148, 1915. 



