BACTERIA IN^ CHEESE 25! 



In the last few years, aided by the work of the agricultural 

 department, an attempt has been made to introduce into this 

 country the micro-organisms necessary for the production of the 

 cheeses, and to inoculate them artificially into the dairies, with 

 the hope of making on this side of the Atlantic a real Camem- 

 bert cheese. The result of these experiments has shown that 

 it is perfectly possible to make such cheeses, and many have 

 been made that are equal in character to the imported ones. It 

 has proved, however, to be extremely difficult to handle the 

 organisms in a manner that is uniform and certain to produce 

 desired results. At the present time, this industry has not been 

 placed upon a firm footing. The cheeses are made in consider- 

 able quantities in this country at the present time, but while 

 some of them are equal to the imported, the quality of the gen- 

 eral product is still below that of the imported cheese. We may 

 confidently expect, however, that success will be achieved in 

 this line in the not distant future. 



In the manufacture of the Camembert type of cheese in 

 America the difficulties experienced are due to the undue 

 growth of organisms that are deleterious and that produce un- 

 pleasant results. Sometimes the Oidium lactis grows too lux- 

 uriantly upon the cheese ; when it does so it prevents the mold 

 from getting the proper growth, and the resulting cheese has 

 a very strong, unpleasant taste. Sometimes the class of liquefy- 

 ing bacteria get into the milk, and the lactic acid bacteria do 

 not grow sufficiently to prevent their developing. During the 

 period of ripening the moist curd furnishes them every op- 

 portunity to grow, and they develop bitter tastes, as we have 

 learned they will do, if they grow too luxuriantly. In some 

 cases, the mold develops too luxuriantly, the cheese digesting 

 too rapidly under the rind and becoming much too soft here 

 before the ripening reaches the center. A variety of other 

 troubles appears in the manufacture of these cheeses, all of 

 which are due to the improper control of the various organisms 



