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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1906 



5 — Compound Molds Used in Making "Swiss" Cheese 



6 — Shaping and Draining Brie Cheeses 



soften under the influence of Bacillus firmitatis, which has 

 been studied by M. G. Roger. The colonies of this highly 

 colored bacillus appear first as yellow, later as red spots and 

 its secretions check the development of the white Penicillium, 

 which ceases to grow while the red colonies become diffused 

 through the entire substance of the cheese, which they con- 

 vert into an elastic paste of deep cream color. Finally a third 

 marauder, the Micrococcus meldensis, discovered by M. G. 

 Roger, comes upon the scene and stops the work of the 

 Bacillus firmitatis, which, but for this intervention, would 

 soften the creamy cheese too greatly and would ultimately 

 cause "running," that nightmare of cheese makers. The 

 work of these infinitesimal organisms, therefore, is divided 

 into three stages. The first germ destroys the lactic acid; 

 the second, more vigorous, drives out the first; and the third, 

 in consequence of its production of diastases, plays the part 

 of moderator and preserves the cohesion of the mass. But 

 these industrious micro-organisms have an enemy, the Peni- 

 cillium glaucum, or common green mold, which sometimes 

 disturbs their mysterious operations (Fig. 8). The green or 



7 — A Brie Ripening Cellar. The Workman is Shown 



Turning a Large Cheese and Transferring 



It to a Fresh Mat 



black spores of this fungus give the crust of the cheese a 

 tint which lowers its market value. Brie which is affected 

 with this malady, which the manufacturers call "the blues," 

 also acquires a bitter taste. To resist the invasion of this 

 dangerous cryptogam it is necessary to disinfect thoroughly 



the ripening cellar and all the utensils employed. Tubs, 

 molds, zinc bands and skimmers are washed with boiling 

 soda lye ; the cellars and drying rooms are whitewashed and 

 fumigated with sulphur. 



The principal wholesale market for Brie cheeses is at 

 Meaux (Seine-et-Mame) where sales take place weekly, on 

 Saturdays. Brie cheeses are of various sizes; the "grand 

 moule" (Fig. 7), averaging 16 inches in diameter and weigh- 

 ing 6y 2 pounds; the "moyen moule," 12 inches and 4 

 pounds, and the "petit moule," or Coulomnier, the diameter 

 of which varies from 5 to 10 inches according to locality. 



To the same class of products belongs the cheese first made 

 at Camembert, in the department of the Orne, which differs 



8 — Penicillium Glaucum, Enlarged One-hundred and Eighty 

 Times. This Fungus Causes " Blues " in Brie Cheese 



from Brie only in being smaller. The curd is made and 

 shaped and the cheese salted and ripened almost exactly as 

 described above (Fig. 9). 



Finally, mention should be made of washed cheeses, which 

 differ from the foregoing varieties by being ripened without 

 the aid if fungous growths. The principal types are Gerome, 

 Pont L'Eveque and Livarot. 



In the manufacture of Gerome the milk is curdled at a 

 temperature of from 81 to 90 degrees F, so that 

 coagulation is completed in two hours. The curd is then cut 

 into pieces measuring three-quarters of an inch every way 

 and allowed to stand for half an hour, after which the whey 

 is removed by means of a colander with small holes. The 

 curd is then put into tinned iron molds which rest on wooden 

 gratings supported by planks. When the curd has settled 

 well down in the mold five or six hours after filling, the mold 

 is inverted on a dry mat. In the evening this operation is re- 

 peated and on the following day the cheeses are transferred 



