COWS '-MILK ROQUEFORT CHEESE. 11 
the infected part should be removed or the entire loaf should be 
discarded. Although their presence may not be indicated, by spores 
of another color, under the best conditions there will probably be 
some foreign molds present. By virtue of the power of Roquefort 
mold to grow rapidly at a low temperature and in the presence of a 
high percentage of carbon dioxide in the cheese, 9 foreign molds 
appear to cause but little trouble in the cheese. This is especially 
true when the mold is grown in bread at a temperature of 50° F. 
When the mold is thoroughly dry the bread is sliced and ground up 
by means of a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. The mold 
powder should be kept in a cold, dry place; otherwise there is a 
tendency for the bread to reabsorb moisture and cause the mold 
powder to spoil. Usually the bread is ground as fine as pepper. 
When the bread is cut before drying it is green, and upon drying it 
assumes a darker hue. The mold will keep for several months in a 
cold, dry place. 
The French process for making the bread for mold development 
requires 2 parts of wheat flour, 1 part of rye flour, and a great deal 
of yeast. The bread is acidified by vinegar to prevent the develop- 
ment of foreign bacteria, and then baked. After the mold has grown 
in the bread at a temperature of 53° F. and at a relative humidity of 
88° the bread is dried at 90° F. and made into a fine powder. When 
growing the mold we have observed no special advantage in using 
vinegar, especially if the mold is grown at a low temperature, or in 
making the bread from combined flours. 
Another method of mold development suggested by Chavas- 
telon 10 has given good results. The bread is first sterilized, then 
broken up into pieces about one-half inch in diameter, and soaked 
in a 3.5 to 3.7 per cent solution of tartaric acid. The pieces of bread 
rest on a wicker mat which has been sterilized. This arrangement 
permits a circulation of air. A high humidity and relatively low 
temperature are maintained and the crumbs of bread are turned 
once or twice during the period of mold development. By this 
method the bread becomes more thoroughly molded and there is less 
unmolded bread than when the mold is introduced into the interior 
of the loaf. There is a greater chance for surface contamination, 
however, although there is a smaller loss from unmolded bread. 
Handling during draining period. — When loaded with the cheese, 
the truck is run into the drain room. The temperature of this room 
should be from 65° to 68° F., and the air moist enough to prevent the 
cheese from drying out (85° to 90° relative humidity). A continu- 
9 Thorn, C, and Currie, J. N., The dominance of Roquefort mold in cheese, Journal of Biological Chem- 
istry, Vol. XV (1913), No. 2, pp. 247-258. 
i° Chavastelon, M. R. Sur la culture practique de la moisissure verte (Penicillium glaucum) pour la 
fabrication des fromages bleus. In Compt. Rend. Acad. Agr., France, 1918, v. 4, no. 18, pp. 564-566. 
