10 
BULLETIN 970, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
in a dry oven for two hours at 170° C. (338° F.). In either case the 
bread should be allowed to cool before it is inoculated with the mold. 
Freshly baked bread is preferable, for it contains more moisture. 
When the bread is dry-sterilized it may be improved by putting it 
into a steam sterilizer for a time in order that the bread may regain 
some of the moisture lost in the dry-sterilizing process. By means 
of a sterile platinum needle Roquefort-mold spores from an agar 
culture are transferred to a flask of sterile water. The mixture is 
then shaken and a portion of it drawn off by means of a sterile 
pipette. The point of the pipette is thrust into the bread in several 
places and a small quantity of the liquid allowed to run into the 
bread in each case. When the pipettes are small several are used 
for each loaf of bread. It is not advisable to use the pipette twice 
for inoculating the 
bread. At least an 
ounce of the water 
culture should be used 
for each loaf ; too little 
moisture will result in 
a meager growth of 
mold and a great part 
of the bread will be 
wasted. The holes 
made by the pipette 
may be covered with 
a gummed label, and 
it is advisable to cover 
the inoculated bread 
with a thin coating of 
hot paraffin. The in- 
oculated bread should be put into a moist, cold place (about 50° F.) 
for several weeks to allow the mold to develop to a stage at which 
it may be used in the cheese. When grown at a temperature of 
from 50° to 52° F., it takes two or three weeks for the mold to 
grow to a stage where it is fit to be made into powder. This condi- 
tion is indicated by the spreading of the colored mold throughout 
the bread. 
Foreign molds are more likely to cause trouble at a high tempera- 
ture, and the desired mold appears to make a more vigorous develop- 
ment in the cheese when grown at a low temperature. In some 
instances in which we have grown the mold at a high temperature 
(room temperature) and held it for a time before using it, the mold 
has failed to develop properly, or at least luxuriantly, in the 
cheese. When there is evidence of foreign mold in the bread either 
Fig. 2.— Inoculating the bread with pure culture of Roquefort mold. 
