454 Brie, Pont l'Eveque and other Soft Cheese, [sept., 



the surface is close the cheeses will lose moisture by excessive 

 drainage and be spoiled. 



The temperature of the making room should be kept at 

 65 0 or 68° F., and the cheeses should be ready to salt in 

 from twelve to sixteen hours after the milk was renneted. 

 The proper stage at which to salt is when the cheeses smell 

 yeasty and are a little greasy upon the outside. Rapid 

 digestive changes occur in these cheeses, and a knowledge 

 of the exact stage at which to salt is important. In salting, 

 the cheeses are lightly covered all over with salt, a little 

 extra being added on the upper surface. Later they are 

 turned and again salted in a similar manner. 



The cheeses are kept in the making room for about three 

 days, and are then taken to the curing cellar, which is kept 

 at 58 0 to 6o° F. They are laid on sparred shelves covered 

 with wheat straw, and are occasionally washed with weak 

 brine to prevent the formation of mould. 



When the ripening process has proceeded for sixteen or 

 eighteen days, the cheeses are packed together in layers of 

 three to conserve moisture, and occasionally their position 

 is reversed in order to secure uniform ripening. The period 

 of ripening usually extends to five or six weeks, and when 

 the cheeses are ripe they should be soft, but not creamy. 

 A good cheese will show a slight bulging of the sides, and 

 when cut should be uniformly ripe throughout. In this 

 respect it differs from the Camembert and Brie, which ripen 

 gradually from the outside towards the centre. 



When ripe the cheeses are packed singly in suitable chip 

 boxes, and realise from lod. to is. each retail. When pro- 

 perly made they are excellent, and are not so perishable as 

 many other soft cheeses. 



Cream Cheeses. 



Cream cheeses arc extensively manufactured in England 

 during the summer months, but almost every dairy has its 

 own particular method, and no really serious attempt has 

 been made to put upon the market cheeses of uniform quality 

 and flavour. 



In flavour the produce of different dairies varies widely, 

 no two dairies being alike, and the flavour of the greater 

 portion of the cheeses made is objectionable. Many makers 



