12 



BULLETrN 970, V. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



ous high temperature for draining favors rapid development of the 

 Oidium lactis and other destructive microorganisms. Excessive 

 losses as well as an impaired quality of the cheese result from an 

 overdevelopment of these forms of life. An air too dry causes the 

 surface of the cheese to become yellow, hard, and dry. This condition 

 is undesirable because the cheese fails later to absorb the salt properly 

 and great losses are likely to occur in the scraping process. This con- 

 dition is more likely to arise when there are only a few rather than a 

 large number of cheeses in the drain room. When this room is filled 

 with cheese, continuous ventilation seems desirable in checking 



somewhat the des- 

 tructive action of 

 Oidium lactis. Fif- 

 teen or twenty min- 

 utes after the forms 

 are filled they should 

 be turned. In turn- 

 ing, one hand raises 

 the cheese from the 

 surface of the mat 

 while the other hand 

 is slipped beneath the 

 cheese and both the 

 form and cheese are 

 quickly reversed. 

 The cheeses should be 

 turned several times 

 during the first day 

 and twice a day there- 

 after until ready for 

 salting. The object 

 of the repeated turning is to hasten drainage and to insure an even, 

 smooth surface. 



Forms are allowed to remain on the cheese for the first two days 

 and then are removed and washed. The French practice calls for 

 washing both the cheese and forms night and morning, using cold 

 water in summer and warm water in winter. In the work at Grove 

 City the cheese and boards are washed only in the morning. The mats 

 are removed the day after the cheese is made and thereafter the 

 cheese rests directly on the boards. The cheeses are allowed to 

 drain for four or five days, until little whey escapes from day to day. 

 Much of the success in making this cheese depends upon having the 

 cheese dry enough before the salting period. 



Fig. 3.— Turning the cheese during the draining period. 



