SOFT CHEESES 210 
to all of these troubles the cheese-maker has the serious disad- 
vantage that they cannot be discovered until the ripening has be- 
come partially completed, and then it is too late to apply any 
remedy. The method of meeting them must be by prevention 
rather than cure, and after an improper ripening has begun, practi- 
cally nothing can be done to stop it. By cleanliness, by frequent 
sterilization of vats, and by the use of vigorous lactic acid starters 
much can be done to prevent these troubles, but there seems to be 
no remedy after the improper ripening has begun. A vigorous 
lactic acid starter will go far toward preventing gassy cheese, and 
the slimy whey used in the Edam cheese prevents it in that par- 
ticular brand. A regulation of temperature during ripening will 
also aid, since the gassy organisms grow best at higher tempera- 
tures, while at a lower, about 60°, the common lactic acid bacteria 
are the more vigorous. When to these two suggestions of vigor- 
ous starters and cool temperatures we add great care in keeping all 
milk-vessels clean, and in sterilizing frequently by steam, we have 
included practically the only methods in use of much significance 
in guarding against the various cheese faults. 
SOFT CHEESES 
The essential difference between a hard cheese and a soft cheese 
is that the latter has a very much higher percentage of moisture. 
To bring about this condition, the method of manufacture is de- 
signed to retain the whey in the curd. After the milk is curdled 
the curd is sometimes dipped out directly into forms provided with 
holes in their sides, through which the whey drains naturally 
without the application of any pressure. In other cases the curd is 
cut in the vat, but the curd and whey together are dipped into 
forms for draining. As a result, there is produced a cheese which 
contains a much greater amount of water than is allowed to remain 
in the hard cheeses. 
This large amount of water produces a ripening of a totally 
different character from that which occurs in the hard cheeses 
