224 Milk and Its Products. 



process is not completed at the time the cheese is 

 marketed. An Edam cheese at three or four weeks 

 old is of a tough, elastic texture and scarce any 

 flavor. Six or eight months or more are required to 

 break down the casein and develop the flavor as it is 

 found in the perfect Edam cheese, and this ordinarih- 

 takes place while the cheeses are in the warehouse or 

 in course of exportation. 



Gouda. — Gouda cheeses are made in South Holland 

 by a process very similar to the manufacture of 

 Edam. The whey is not so completely separated, 

 and the resulting cheese is therefore softer. It is 

 pressed in molds of a flat, oval shape and about 

 ten or twelve pounds weight, and is cured faster 

 than Edam, so that at six weeks to two months 

 old it is a cheese similar in flavor and texture to 

 a well made Cheddar, although somewhat drier. 



Roquefort. — This is a soft or semi-soft cheese, 

 made in France. In some respects it is the most fa- 

 mous of all varieties of cheese. It is sometimes made 

 from goats' as well as cows' milk, and it has peculiar 

 characteristics imparted by specific fermentations that 

 are brought about in the curing process. The curing 

 is done in caves in limestone rock, where the air is 

 uniform in temperature, and in order to bring about 

 the desired fermentations the germs are added to the 

 curd in the process of manufacture. These germs 

 are often cultivated upon bread or similar substance, 

 and this, crumbled up, is mingled with the curd 

 in order to insure the proper fermentation in the 

 cheese. Roquefort cheese, when well made and 



