186 Milk and Its Products. 
down or rendering soluble the casein and in the 
development of the characteristic flavors peculiar to 
good cheese. These fiavors are almost entirely de- 
veloped during the ripening process. The ripening 
is brought about by a series of fermentations that 
goes on in the cheese. It is not well understood 
just what these fermentations are; but it seems 
evident that at least in the early stages of the 
curing, lactic acid germs are active, although the 
greater majority of these disappear after a short 
time. During the ripening process, oxygen is taken 
up and earbonic acid given off. The quality of 
the cheese is best when the ripening process goes 
on gradually and continually. The higher the tem- 
perature the faster the ripening will go on; an 
extreme temperature of 65° or 70° giving the best 
results. At the end of from four to six weeks the 
casein will be so broken down that the cheese is 
fairly digestible and fit for consumption, though if 
kept longer under good conditions the cheese will 
improve for three or four months, and then if kept 
moderately cool, and in not too moist nor too dry 
an atmosphere, it may be kept one or two years. 
During the early part of the curing process the 
cheeses should be turned upon the shelves every day 
until a sufficient amount of water has evaporated, 
so that they no longer tend to lose their shape. 
Difficulties likely to occur in cheddar cheese mak- 
ing. —The chief difficulty in cheddar cheese making 
comes from the presence in the milk of germs 
which produce fermentations that are undesirable. 
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