THE COMPOSITION OF CHEESE. 317 



acids, and other compounds distinct from albumin and peptone, in 

 three kinds of this cheese, ranged between 1.22 and 1.48 per cent. ; 

 i.e. about one-fifth of the total quantity of this element present. 

 Among the albuminoid constituents special mention must be made 

 of caseo-glutin, a body allied to the peptones, and one that must 

 be considered as among the chief products of the ripening process, 

 since it constitutes 20 per cent., and even more, of the total dry 

 matter. In addition, there was found (along with a small quantity 

 of peptones) another albuminoid body, recognised as paracasein. 

 To this list of the constituents of ripe Emmenthal cheese still 

 another unit, viz., phenylamidopropionic acid, was added in 1887 

 by the labours of F. BENECKE and E. SCHULZE (I.). 



Several other kinds of cheese were included in the scope of 

 these investigations. In harmony with the similarity existing 

 between the methods employed in their preparation the qualita- 

 tive composition of Spalen cheese was found to resemble that of 

 the Emmenthal product. Peptone was also detected in Gruyere, 

 Vacherin, and Bellalay cheese, as also in Schabzig cheese ; the 

 latter, however, differs from the other kinds just named by not 

 containing any ponderable quantity of caseo-glutin. 



The comparative examination of the constitution of hard and 

 soft cheeses was undertaken by BONDZYNSKI (I.). 



If cheese be allowed to become over-ripe, then the percentage 

 of albuminoids falls off still more. Thus, A. MAGGIORA (II.) 

 found in a sample of over-ripe Stracchino (Gorgonzola) cheese 

 only one-seventh of the initial nitrogen in the form of protein, the 

 remaining six-sevenths being in the form of amido- and ammonia- 

 compounds. 



We will now briefly consider the amount of fatty matter in 

 cheese. When whole-milk is set for cheese, the whole of the fat 

 passes into the coagulum, which then contains almost as much 

 fatty matter as albuminoids, the former constituting about 45 per 

 cent, of the total dry matter of the curd. So far as the observa- 

 tions hitherto made extend, it would appear that the fat suffers no 

 great alteration, whether of quality or quantity, during the ripen- 

 ing process. Bacteriologically exact investigations are, however, 

 still wanting. Reference has already been made in 120 to the 

 influence exerted on the fat by light and air, and this influence 

 also makes itself felt during the ripening of the cheese. The 

 saponification of the glycerides mentioned in the said paragraph 

 occurs in cheese to a still greater extent than in butter. The 

 course of this operation has been traced by E. DUCLAUX (VI.), 

 who found that, in one instance, about one-third of the glycerin 

 butyrate originally present was broken up into its two components. 

 The conversion of albumin into fat, the development of which 

 question has been reviewed by S. SOSKIN (I.) in a prize-essay, is 

 not only of the greatest importance in the study of chemical 

 alterations in the animal body, but also comes under consideration 



