Bacteria and Cheese Making. 185 



The second stage in ripening, and one in which the' 

 characteristic flavor of the cheese is developed, is due to 

 the growth of the mold with which the cheese is seeded. 

 Molds can grow only in the presence of air, and in order 

 to provide this condition, the cheese are rim through a 

 machine having a series of needle-like projections which 

 fills the cheese with fine holes. This allows the air to 

 penetrate the cheese and the mold to grow, the fruiting 

 of which develops the characteristic flavor. The changes 

 produced by the mold are not well understood, but the 

 flavor is evidently connected with its development since 

 in the absence of mold, it does not appear. The cheese 

 must be cured under carefully controlled conditions, as 

 to temperature and moisture; in France these are se- 

 cured by curing the cheese in limestone caves that are 

 highly saturated with moisture. Attempts have been 

 made to make Roquefort cheese in other parts of the 

 world, but th6y have never been successful, due undoubt- 

 edly to the fact that the proper environment and con- 

 ditions for the development of the various types of or- 

 ganisms necessary in the ripening process have not been 

 met. This cheese is sold for 50 to 75 cents per pound 

 in the markets of the world. 



There are two other kinds of cheese that are closely 

 related to Roquefort, as to the manner of ripening, viz., 

 the Gorgonzola of Italy and the Stilton of England, both 

 of which possess their characteristic flavors by reason of 

 the development of molds. In Stilton cheese the mold is 

 not intentionally added, the maker relying on the con- 

 tamination that comes from the factory for the usual t 

 seeding. If this does- not develop, it is sometimes in- 

 oculated by exchanging plugs with a well-ripened Stil- 



