cows '-MILK ROQUEFORT CHEESE. 11 



the infected part should be removed or the entire loaf should be 

 discarded. Although their presence may not be indicated, by spores 

 of another color, under the best conditions there will probably be 

 some foreign molds present. By virtue of the power of Roquefort 

 mold to grow rapidly at a low temperature and m the presence of a 

 high percentage of carbon dioxide in the cheese,^ foreign molds 

 appear to cause but little trouble in the cheese. This is especially 

 true when the mold is grown in bread at a temperature of 50° F. 



When the mold is thoroughly dry the bread is sliced and ground up 

 by means of a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. The mold 

 powder should be kept in a cold, dry place; otherwise there is a 

 tendency for the bread to reabsorb moisture and cause the mold 

 powder to spoil. Usually the bread is ground as fine as pepper. 

 When the bread is cut before drying it is green, and upon drying it 

 assumes a darker hue. The mold will keep for several months in a 

 cold, dry place. 



The French process for making the bread for mold development 

 requires 2 parts of wheat flour, 1 part of rye flour, and a great deal 

 of yeast. The bread is acidified by vinegar to prevent the develop- 

 ment of foreign bacteria, and then baked. After the mold has grown 

 in the bread at a temperature of 53° F. and at a relative humidity of 

 88° the bread is dried at 90° F. and made into a fine powder. When 

 growing the mold we have observed no special advantage in using 

 vinegar, especially if the mold is grown at a. low temperature, or in 

 making the bread from combined flours. 



Another method of mold development suggested by Chavas- 

 telon ^° has given good results. The bread is first sterilized, then 

 broken up into pieces about one-half inch in diameter, and soaked 

 in a 3.5 to 3.7 per cent solution of tartaric acid. The pieces of bread 

 rest on a wicker mat which has been sterilized. This arrangement 

 permits a circulation of air. A high humidit}^ and relatively low 

 temperature are maintained and the crumbs of bread arc turned 

 once or twice during the period of mold development. By this 

 method the bread becomes more thoroughly molded and there is less 

 unmolded bread than when the mold is introduced into the interior 

 of the loaf. There is a greater chance for surface contamination, 

 however, although there is a smaller loss from unmolded bread. 



Handling during draining period. — When loaded with the cheese, 

 the truck is run into the drain room. The temperature of this room 

 should be from 65° to 68° F., and the air moist enough to prevent the 

 cheese from drying out (85° to 90° relative humidit}'). A continu- 



9 Thorn, C, and Curric, J. N., The dominance of Roquefort mold in cheese, Journal of Biological Chem- 

 istry, Vol. XV (1913), No. 2, pp. 247-258. 



1" Chavastelon, M. R. Sur la culture practique do la moisissure verte (PeniciUium glaucum) pour la 

 fabricatiou dos Iromagcs bleus. In Compt. Rend. Acad. Agr., France, 191S, v. 4, no. IS, pp. 564-566. 



