204 BACTERIA AND OTHER MICROORGANISMS IN CHEESE. 



without the application of any pressure. In other cases the curd is 

 cut in the vat, but the curd and whey together are dipped into forms 

 for draining. As a result, there is produced a cheese which con- 

 tains a much greater amount of water than is allowed to remain in 

 the hard cheeses. 



This large amount of water produces a ripening of a totally 

 different character from that which occurs in the hard cheeses. The 

 process of ripening is different, the agents that bring it about are 

 different, and the final results are very different from those in the 

 hard cheeses. Moreover, the ripening is liable to greater variations 

 in the soft cheeses than in the hard cheeses, and it is more difficult to 

 control, because of the presence of so much moisture. Bacteria, 

 yeasts, and molds all find a suitable medium for growth in the wet 

 curd of the soft green cheese, and unless the progress of the ripening 

 is exactly right, the cheese-maker may expect the development of 

 kinds of microorganisms that are unfavorable to his product and 

 that will spoil his cheeses. Soft cheeses are much less uniform in 

 character than hard cheeses. They differ very greatly in texture 

 and flavor, and are subject to various defects that injure or ruin 

 them. They are, in short, more difficult to make with success than 

 the hard cheeses, largely, if not wholly, because the water they con- 

 tain offers such a favorable medium for the growth of bacteria and 

 other microorganisms. 



The ripening of several of these cheeses has been carefully 

 studied by bacteriologists. A brief description of the phenomena 

 in three of these will illustrate the principles concerned The three 

 described represent three types of soft cheeses. 



Camembert Cheese. This, together with Brie cheese and some 

 others, represents a type in which the ripening is due partly to 

 bacteria in the curd and partly to molds growing on the surface of 

 the cheese, but not penetrating below the surface. The cheeses are 

 small, about four inches in diameter and one inch thick. The 

 soft curd is dipped out with the whey into forms and allowed to 

 drain by its own weight. The cheese, with its large moisture con- 

 tent, is then allowed to ripen in a damp room where the temperature 

 is low. Sometimes two rooms of different temperatures are used. 



