102 CHEESE MAKING. 
After a while the cloths will get stiff from the sediment in 
the water. They should then be boiled in water to which a little 
hydrochloric acid has been added. Do not use enough acid to 
injure the cloth. 
202. Shrinkage in Curing. 
The loss of weight in curing is due to the evaporation of the 
water of the cheese and to chemical changes. The factors affect- 
ing the rate of loss in curing are: 
1. The temperature of the curing room. 
2. The relative humidity of the air of the curing room. 
3. The size and the form of the cheese. 
4. The moisture content of the cheese. 
5. The protection to the surface of the cheese. 
The following table shows the effect of both the size of 
cheese and the temperature of the room on the shrinkage :* 
PER CENT OF LOSS IN TWENTY WEEKS. 
Weight of Temperature of Curing Rooms. 
Cheese. 40 degrees. 50 degrees. 60 degrees. 
70 lbs. 2.5 2.4 4.2 
45 lbs. 27 3.7 5.1 
35 Ibs. 3.9 5.9 8.5 
12% lbs. 4.6 8.1 12.0 
The low-temperature cheese was better in texture and 
milder in fiavor than the cheese cured at higher temperatures 
and the low temperatures therefore returned more money, as 
shown in the following table: 
SHRINKAGE IN TWENTY WEEKS. 
: Value of 100 
Per cent of S f 
Temperature. Sh anne By Che ion a Pauaids ae ide 
40 degrees. 3.8 95.7 $9.62 
50 degrees. 4.8 94.2 $9.52 
60 degrees. 7.8 91.7 9.22 
At the end of twenty weeks the cheese cured at 40° F. was 
worth 2214 cents more per 100 pounds than that cured at 50° F., 
and 60 cents more than that cured at 60° F. 
*Buletin 244 of the Geneva Experiment Station. 
