194 Milk and Its Products. 
ture of the stirred-curd cheese, on the other hand, 
the aim is to retain as much water as_ possible 
without having it appear in the form of free water in 
the cheese. To this end, in the stirred-curd process 
those influences which tend to contract the curd, 
namely, the application of heat and the development 
of lactic acid, are not carried so far as in the ched- 
dar process. In fact, in many cases they are not car- 
ried far enough to remove all of the water necessary, 
and some remains in the cheese, making a “ wet,”’ 
‘sloppy’? or ‘‘leaky” cheese. 
Because of the larger amount of water it contains, 
this kind of cheese is profitable to the producer of 
the milk and to the manufacturer, and when properly 
made and carefully cured, it may be of excellent 
quality, being mild, creamy and soft; but largely, 
too, because of the large amount of water contained 
in it, it is easily subject to decomposition changes, 
goes off flavor rapidly, and does not bear transporta- 
tion well. 
Sage cheese.—In many parts of the United States 
this cheese is very popular for local consumption. 
Its manufacture is not different from the ordinary 
type of cheese, either cheddar or stirred-curd, but 
an infusion of sage leaves, or sage extract (in which 
latter case the green color is secured by an in- 
fusion of fresh leaves of any inert plant, as clover, 
green corn, etc.), is added to the milk before the 
rennet coagulation, and imparts a light greenish 
color and characteristic flavor to the eurd. Ordi- 
narily, where sage cheese is made, the sage is added 
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