Composition of Cheese. 39 



perly, or acquire that fine flavour, which depends upon the fer- 

 mentation proceeding in a sufficiently active degree. Too much 

 salt, by checking this chemical activity, is thus injurious to the 

 proper ripening of cheese. The saline taste of old cheese, as 

 already explained, is not due so much to the common salt used in 

 its preparation, as to certain ammoniacal salts which are formed 

 during the ripening process. It sounds strange, but it is never- 

 theless the case, that over-salted cheeses do not taste nearly so 

 saline when kept for six or eight months, as under-salted cheeses 

 kept equally long. If the milk is very rich, somewhat less salt 

 should be used than when it is poor. On no account, however, 

 should more than 2 Ibs. of salt be used per cwt. of cheese ; 1^ Ib. 

 in most cases is quite enough, and even 1 Ib. will be found a 

 sufficient quantity when rich cheeses are made. 



8. Lastly, an inferior quality of cheese sometimes is produced 

 when it is imperfectly salted; that is, when the salt is not properly 

 applied to the cheese. I have often seen the salt put upon the curd 

 in rough bits ; more often proper care is not taken to mix the curd 

 with the salt, and the cheese becomes unequally salted. The 

 consequence is that some particles of the cheese ferment too 

 much, others too little, and that the portions which are too much 

 salted do not stick well together, and acquire a dry and crumbly 

 texture. The salt used in dairies should be of the finest descrip- 

 tion, and should be sifted evenly through a fine sieve on the 

 curd, after the latter has been passed through the curd-mill, and 

 thinly spread in shallow leads to cool. This plan of spreading 

 the salt saves a great deal of labour, and is greatly to be pre- 

 ferred to the system of pickling the cheese in brine after it 

 is made, or of rubbing in salt. When salt is applied, either in 

 solution or by rubbing it into the cheese after it has been in the 

 presses, the outside is apt to get hard, and close up too much. 

 It is, of course, desirable to get a good and firm coat, but, at the 

 same time, the pores should not be too much closed, so that the 

 emanations which proceed from the cheese cannot escape. Thin 

 cheeses may be salted after they have been in the press ; but, in 

 making thick cheeses, it is far better to salt the curd before it is 

 put into the vat. 



A rather novel way of salting cheese has lately been made the 

 subject of experiments in America. As the following communi- 

 cation to the pages of the ' Country Gentleman and Cultivator,' 

 an American agricultural paper, may have some interest, I take 

 the liberty of inserting it here : 



" Important Experiment in Cheese-making. The diary season is about 

 commencing again, and I desire the privilege of a corner in your paper, to 



