CHEDDAR CHEESE 317 



CHEESE-MOISTURE TEST (Troy) 



The following apparatus is required : drying flask ; jacketed 

 cup for heating flask; thermometer; tripod; alcohol lamp; 

 scales. 



The cheese sample should be taken by drawing two or three 

 plugs with a trier. After closing the openings in the cheese 

 with the outer half inch of the plugs, cut the remainder of the 

 plugs into pieces as small or smaller than kernels of wheat, 

 or a representative wedge-shaped piece of the cheese cut up 

 in a similar manner will serve as a sample. Mix the pieces of 

 cheese together thoroughly and weigh 5 grams into the drying 

 flask. Place the flask in the heating cup. The oil or fat in 

 the heating cup should be at a temperature of 145 C. when 

 the flask is placed in the cup, and it should be held at that tem- 

 perature for 50 minutes. The flask is then removed, covered, 

 allowed to cool, and then weighed. The loss in weight divided 

 by the weight of cheese taken gives the percentage of moisture. 



The heating cup is double walled, made of copper, and is 

 about five inches tall. There is a space of about three-fourths 

 of an inch between the walls and bottoms which is filled to 

 within one inch of the top with tallow. The inner walls form 

 a cup for holding the flask, and are supported by means of the 

 rim, which is bent outward to form a cover that fits down over 

 the top of the outer walls. An opening in this cover serves 

 for filling the space between the walls with melted tallow and 

 also for holding a thermometer. Several hundred tests may 

 be made without renewing the tallow. ' 



When ready to heat the cup, place it on the tripod over the 

 alcohol lamp. Insert the thermometer through the opening 

 in the cover until its bulb is just covered with the melted tallow. 

 The thermometer should not touch the bottom. It may be 

 held in place with a piece of cork also placed in the opening. 

 A flame about an inch tall and half an inch in diameter will 



