INFLATED CHEESE. 24! 



become swelled and filled with cavities (Fig. 35). The 

 amount of the swelling and the size of the cavities is by no 

 means constant. Sometimes there will be a few large 



FIG. 35. 



Two pieces of cheese curd ripened by different species of lactic bacteria. The upper 

 one would produce a swelled cheese, the lower one a normal, cheese and is ripened with 

 B. lactis acidi. 



cavities, sometimes an immense number of small ones ; some- 

 times the trouble may be so slight as not to interfere with the 

 value of the cheese, and, indeed, certain types of cheeses are 

 always characterized by the presence of such holes (Fig. 28). 

 In other cases, the development of these cavities is so great 

 as to spoil the product, particularly when the gases and other 

 products developed at the same time give the cheese unpleas- 



