CHAPTER XIV. 

 CHEESE MAKING. 



It is almost unnecessary at the outset to state that the condition of 

 the milk from which cheese is to be made is the all-important point 

 in cheese making, and although much has been written on. the chemical 

 composition of milk by endless numbers of agricultural scientists and 

 autorities on dairying, no article on cheese making is complete without 

 a briei reference at least to the chemical composition of milk. Briefly 

 put, the average milk of our dairy farms contains, according to best 

 authorities : Fat, 3.8, casein 3.3, albumen 0.7, sugar 4.5, and ash 0.7 per 

 cent. These figures are subject to changes according to the conditions 

 of the dairy cows. But taking average seasons and average herds 

 they will be found fairly accurate. 



The casein and albumen are the materials containing nitrogen, 

 and are o-f special importance in cheese making. In general the ash, 

 sugar, and albumen are in solution, the casein in partial, and the -fat 

 in suspension, being mixed with the milk, but not dissolved in it. 

 standing for a short time becomes slightly viscous through the forma- 

 tion in it of n small amount of fibrin." 



For the benefit of those who wish to follow the science of milk into 

 its liner points the writer would recommend the purchase of a micro- 

 scope and an appliance for analysing milk. These, together with an 

 up-to-date work on the chemical analysis of milk, butter, and cheese 

 should enable any dairyman to master the simple troubles of the dairy 

 farm. 



We are told by analytical chemists that " milk fat consists of a mix- 

 ture of several fats." But as its composition begins to undergo changes 

 almost immediately after the milk is drawn, its exact condition at any 

 moment is very uncertain. It is distributed throughout the milk in 

 the -form of minute globules varying in size. It was at one time 

 thought that these minute globules were encased in an albuminous 

 membrane, but the examination of milk after being filtered has caused 

 that idea to be somewhat doubted. The relation, however, of the 

 soluble and insoluble portions of the casein is a matter of much im- 

 portance to cheese makers, as the condition of the casein has every- 

 thing to do with the action o-f the rennet. It is but reasonable to con 

 elude that the fat globules and a part of the casein are held in sus- 

 pension in the milk as drawn from the cow. 



The albumen of milk is in complete solution, and seems to differ 

 only slightly from the serum albumen of the blood." It is, therefore, 

 probable that it is derived 'from the albumen of the lymph in tjtie blood 

 of the cow. 



Milk sugar exists in milk in a state of complete solution. The 

 greater portion of it can be obtained by evaporating the water from 

 the whey. 



The ash of milk contains quite a number of mineral constituents. 

 These can be obtained to a great extent by extraction from the milk 

 sugar contents. 



Before attempting to treat of the process of cheese making we state 

 at once that although cheese making cannot very well be learned -from 

 a book, a practical cheese maker can learn much from a well-written 

 article on cheese making. Some writers who are endeavouring to 



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