VARIETIES OF CHEESE: DESCRIPTION'S AND ANALYSES. 49 
is said to be a little finer variety of cheese than Limburg and to sell for a 
slightly higher price. 
ROQUEFORT. 
This is a soft, rennet cheese made from the milk of sheep. There are, how- 
ever, numerous imitations, such as Gex and Septmoncel, made from cows' milk, 
which resemble Roquefort. One of the most striking characteristics of this 
cheese is the mottled or marbled appearance of the interior, due to the develop- 
ment of a penicillium, which is the principal ripening agent. The manufacture 
of Roquefort cheese has been carried on in the southeastern part of France 
for at least two centuries. The industry is particularly important in the De- 
partment of Aveyron, in the village of Roquefort, from which the cheese derives 
its name. It is also made in Corsica. Imitations of Roquefort are made in 
various countries. 
The evening's milk is heated to 140° or 150° F., cooled, and kept overnight. 
After being skimmed it is mixed with the fresh morning's milk. The mixture 
is then set with rennet at a temperature of from 78° to 82° F. In from one to 
two hours after the addition of rennet the curd is cut until the particles are 
about the size of walnuts. The whey which rises to the surface is dipped off, and 
the curd is put into hoops which are about 84 inches in diameter and 31 inches 
in height. The hoops usually are filled in three layers, a layer of moldy bread 
crumbs being interspersed between the first and second and second and third 
layers. The bread used for this purpose is prepared from wheat and barley 
flour, with the addition of whey and a little vinegar. It is thoroughly baked 
and kept in a moist place from four to six weeks, during which time it becomes 
permeated with a growth of the mold referred to. The crust is removed, and 
the interior is crumbled very fine and sifted. The cheese is not subjected to 
pressure. It is turned usually one hour after putting into hoops and is not 
wrapped in cloths. 
Formerly the manufacture of the cheese up to this stage was carried on by 
the shepherds themselves, but in recent years centralized factories have been 
established, and much of the milk is collected and there made into cheese. The 
cheese is then taken to the caves. These are for the most part natural caverns 
which exist in large numbers in the region of Roquefort. The temperature in 
these caves is 40° to 45° F., and the air circulates very freely through them. 
Recently artificial caves have been constructed and used. When the cheeses 
reach the caves they are salted, which serves to check the growth of the mold 
on the surface. One or two days later they are rubbed vigorously with a cloth 
and are afterward subjected to thorough scraping with knives, a process for- 
merly done by hand, but now much more satisfactorily and economically by 
machinery. The salting, scraping, or brushing seems to check the development 
of mold on the surface. In order to favor the growth of mold in the interior, 
the cheese is pierced by machinery with from 20 to 60 small needles, which 
process permits the free access of air. The cheese may be sold after from 30 
to 40 days or may remain in the caves as long as five months, depending upon 
the degree of ripening desired. During the process of ripening by scraping and 
evaporation the cheese loses from 16 to 20 per cent of the original weight. 
When ripened, it weighs 4$ or 5 pounds. 
SAANEN. 
This is a type of Emmental cheese made in Switzerland from cows' milk. It 
is sometimes known as Hartkase, Reibkase, and Walliskase. First mentioned 
in the sixteenth century, it is still manufactured extensively at the present 
13113°— 18— Bull. 608—4 
