14 



BULLETIN 9'10, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



held under a uniform temperature in the draining process. At the 

 time of salting a cheese should contain about 45 per cent water. 



Salting. — Roquefort cheese is salted on the outside at a tempera- 

 ture of approximately 48° F. and in a dry room. It should be 

 salted the fourth or fifth day after making. During this period it 

 is desirable to have some ventilation to remove the excess moisture 

 occasioned by the salting. The entire salting process should require 

 about 10 days. At the time of salting the cheese should be moist 

 but not wet nor yellow. Having the cheese too dry may result in 

 undersalting. The cheeses are carried on a hand truck to the salting 

 room and eight cheeses are piled on each board. In order that 



the cheeses may ac- 

 quire the same tem- 

 perature as the salting 

 room they should be 

 left there overnight. 

 Fine, dry salt then 

 is rubbed vigorously 

 over the surface of 

 the cheese, and all the 

 salt that will adhere 

 to the cheese is used. 

 The salt permeates 

 the cheese and tends 

 to remove the excess 

 whey. After the 

 cheeses are salted 

 they are put in piles 

 of two or three, and 

 the following day 

 their position is re- 

 versed, with no addi- 

 tion of salt. On the 

 third or fourth day they are again salted in the manner previously 

 described. 



After an intervening day the cheese is sprinkled over very lightly. 

 Some experience is required before a person can salt Roquefort cheese 

 successfully, and this work must be very carefully done. Some 

 system of piling or marking should be used in order that one may 

 tell at a glance the stage of salting. Unless great care is taken there 

 is always a tendency either to undersalt or to oversalt. Under- 

 salting is the greater evil. As previously noted in the analyses of 

 Roquefort cheese each cheese should contain approximately 4 per 

 cent salt and 40 per cent moisture. Since salt amounting to about 

 10 per cent of the weight of the cheese is used, there is a loss in drain- 



FiG. 4.— Transferring the cheese from the draining room to the 

 curing room. 



