CHAPTER VIII. 

 BACTERIA IN CHEESE. 



THE art of cheese-making, like all other phases of dairy- 

 ing, has been developed mainly as a result of empirical 

 methods. Within the last decade or so, the subject has 

 received more attention from the scientific point of view 

 and the underlying causes determined to some extent. 

 Since the subject has been investigated from the bacterio- 

 logical point of view, much light has been thrown on the 

 cause of many changes that were heretofore inexplicable. 

 Our knowledge, as yet, is quite meager, but enough has 

 already been determined to indicate that the whole indus- 

 try is largely based on the phenomena of ferment action, and 

 that the application of bacteriological principles and ideas 

 is sure to yield more than ordinary results, in explaining, 

 in a rational way, the reasons underlying many of the pro- 

 cesses to be observed in this industry. 



The problem of good milk is a vital one in any phase of 

 dairy activity, but it is pre-eminently so in cheese-making, 

 for the abilitj r to make a first-class product depends to a 

 large extent on the quality of the raw material. Cheese 

 contains so large a proportion of nitrogenous constituents 

 that it is admirably suited, as a food medium, to the devel- 

 opment of bacteria; much better, in fact, than butter. 



INFLUENCE OF BACTERIA IN NORMAL CHEESE PROCESSES . 



In the manufacture of cheddar cheese bacteria exert a 

 marked influence in the initial stages of the process. To 

 produce the proper texture that characterizes cheddar 

 cheese, it is necessary to develop a certain amount of acid 



