FLAVOR IN CHEESE. 22Q 



There is left little room to doubt that, in the case of the 

 hard cheeses, the ripening must be attributed to the action, 

 firstly, of the enzymes, and, secondly, of the lactic bacteria. 

 Without both the normal ripening does not take place. This 

 conclusion, although it has been more or less vigorously dis- 

 puted, has been so thoroughly tested by the experiments of 

 various bacteriologists in recent years that it stands upon a 

 firm foundation, and must be accepted as almost certainly 

 true. It has not yet been determined what part of the chem- 

 ical changes must be attributed to the enzymes and what part 

 to the microorganisms, but simply that the ripening, as it 

 normally occurs, is a process in which the enzymes and the 

 bacteria both play a part. 



The facts here referred to apply chiefly to the hard cheeses, 

 such as the S.wiss and the Cheddar cheeses. The relation of 

 these problems to the ripening of the soft cheeses has not 

 been so carefully studied. It has appeared, however, from 

 recent work, that the chemical changes in the ripening of 

 the soft cheeses are probably more largely to be attributed 

 to the development of microorganisms and less to the action 

 of the enzyme, than are those of the hard cheeses (251). 



PRODUCTION OF FLAVOR. 



The agency of microorganisms in producing the flavor of 

 the cheese is probably of more importance than in the de- 

 velopment of the chemical changes. Cheese is a popular 

 article of food, not so much because it is nutritious although 

 it is one of the very best of foods as because of the flavor 

 which it possesses. The popularity of cheese among so many 

 races of men is due to the fact that its strong flavor enables it 

 to give an appetizing taste to a variety of coarse, tasteless 

 foods. Physiologists find no food value in flavors, but they 

 realize perfectly well that the flavor is of the greatest signifi- 

 cance in diet, inasmuch as it is a powerful stimulation to the 

 digestive functions. A diet of tasteless food cannot be long 



