SOFT CHEESE MANUFACTURE 29 



by a dredger. Unless every portion of the crust 

 receives salt the mould will not appear. Salting 

 on the second side occurs some hours after the 

 first salting : the cheese is then removed on its 

 mat to a dayette and taken to the drying-room. 

 Here it stays for a few days, being systematically 

 turned until it is covered with white mould. 

 In some cases it may stay in this apartment : 

 in others a third room will be essential for the 

 development of the blue mould, which gradually 

 appears until the whole of the cheese is covered, 

 so that at the end of from three to four weeks 

 it is salable. In France, however, consumers 

 of Brie prefer it in an advanced state of ripeness, 

 and the blue cheese is therefore taken to an 

 underground cave until it becomes so creamy that 

 upon the breaking of the crust it runs, and in this 

 condition it realizes a higher price. I venture to 

 think, however, that the English taste would 

 prefer the blue cheese, which is milder and more 

 substantial. No Brie is thoroughly ripe until 

 the white and somewhat solid curd has become 

 yellowish and creamy throughout. Ripening 

 proceeds from the outside, and on cutting any 

 soft cheese of this character while this process 



