12 BULLETIN. 6<i!>, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and freight charges to a minimum, and the keeping quality of the 



product is likewise improved. 



The glass jars, of pimiento or olive-cream cheese are first covered 

 with paraffined disks of paper cut to the proper size and then with 

 screw caps. 



SIZE OF PACKAGES AND PRICES. 



Standard Xeufchiitel packages in tin foil are about 1£ inches in 

 diameter and 2-1- inches long, and weigh from 2| to 3 ounces. At 

 present they retail at about 7 cents a package, while the wholesale 

 price is about $1.40 a box of 25 cheeses. 



The cream-cheese packages in foil are 3 inches b}' 2 inches by 1 

 inch and weigh from 3 to 3^ ounces. Such packages retail at about 

 15 cents each; the wholesale price is from $1.30 to $1.40 a box of 12. 



The pimiento cheeses, in glass jars, weigh 3-|- ounces net and retail 

 at about J 5 cents a jar. 



The size of packages has been fixed by experience. Larger pack- 

 ages have been tried by manufacturers, but the practice was quickly 

 discarded as being impracticable. A small package of cheese may 

 be consumed at a single meal, whereas larger packages would require 

 special and effective refrigeration to prevent the development of 

 mold and deterioration of flavor. 



YIELD OF CHEESE PER HUNDRED POUNDS OF MILK. 



The yield of Neufchatel and cream cheese varies with the composi- 

 tion of the milk and the methods employed in making. One hun- 

 dred pounds of milk containing 4 per cent fat yields from 14 to 16 

 pounds of Xeufchatel cheese, and milk containing from 6 to 8 per cent 

 fat yields from 18 to 20 pounds of cream cheese. Higher yields some- 

 times are obtained, but cheese with a much higher yield is too* soft 

 to handle satisfactory. Pasteurization ordinarily increases the 

 yield from one-half to 1 pound per 100 pounds of milk. Usually 

 when a lower yield is obtained the cheese is gummy and unattractive 

 to the average buyer. If made from milk containing less butterfat 

 correspondingly lower yields are obtained, as is the case when Neuf- 

 chatel cheese is made from partially skimmed milk, such as one- 

 third, one-half, or even two-thirds skim. 



EXPERIMENTAL WORK ON THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. 



Experiments were conducted to determine the most efficient methods 

 to follow in the manufacture and subsequent handling of the Xeuf- 

 chatel group of cheeses. The manufacturing phase of the work 

 requires a consideration of the methods that will (1) reduce losses 

 to a minimum, (2) insure a safe product, and (3) make the cheese 

 most economically. The second phase of the work considers the 



