JUDGING MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS 209 
Flavor. The plug of cheese for examination should 
be drawn from the top of the cheese and not from the 
side as is sometimes done. As soon as removed from 
the cheese, the plug is held close to the nose to get 
the flavor. The flavor is further tested at the final ex- 
amination for texture when the cheese is kneaded and 
molded in the hands. This process warms the cheese to 
near the temperature of the hands thus enabling it to 
give off more of its odor or aroma. 
It is difficult to describe an ideal cheese flavor; per- 
haps the best that may be’said is that it should be clean 
and nutty. Some of the defects in flavor given on the 
score card have already been described under butter 
judging, and the balance of the defects are sufficiently 
suggestive to require no further explanation. It may 
be stated that a sour cheese is one containing an excess 
of acidy whey and is usually soft. An acidy cheese is 
more or less brittle and smells acidy. 
Texture. An ideal textured cheese is solid, waxy 
and meaty. When the plug of cheese is broken the 
ends should not be smooth but have a flinty appearance. 
Pinholes indicate that the cheese was made from gassy 
milk. Swiss holes or openings about the size of buck- 
shot indicate an insufficient development of acid in the 
curd. Curdy cheese is tough and rubbery, indicating 
insufficient ripening. Corky cheese lacks moisture and 
resembles cork. A mealy or crumbly texture is the 
result of too much acid while a pasty texture is the re- 
sult of too much moisture. 
Color; A plug of cheese when held to the light should 
be translucent.. A white, pale color indicates too much 
acid. Too much moisture also produces a dead color. 
Mottled cheese may be the result of uneven coloring, 
