244 PRACTICAL DAIRY BACTERIOLOGY 



ferent from that in the hard cheese; moreover, the ripening 

 is liable to greater variations in the soft cheeses than in the 

 hard cheeses and is more difficult to control. The difficulty of 

 controlling the ripening can be readily understood when one 

 appreciates the effect of the large amount of moisture present. 

 Bacteria, molds and yeasts all find a suitable medium for 

 growth in the wet curd of the soft green cheese, and unless 



FIG. 62 FORMS USED IN MAKING AND DRAINING CAMEMBERT CHEESES 



the progress of the ripening is exactly right, the cheese maker 

 may expect the development of kinds of micro-organisms that 

 are unfavorable to his product and that will spoil his cheeses. 

 The experience of soft cheese makers bears out this theoretical 

 conclusion, for the variety of soft cheeses is very great, and 

 a large number of cheeses are ruined by improper ripening, due 

 to the growth of undesirable organisms. Soft cheeses are much 

 less uniform in character than hard cheeses. They differ very 

 greatly in texture and in flavor, and are subject to a large 

 number of defects that injure or ruin them. They are, in 



