CHEESE 
59 
used as food until a ripening process has been carried 
on which gives it the most desired flavor and increases 
the digestibility of the albuninous matter by making 
it easier of solution. The change of the liquid milk 
into the solid curd is a chemical change, but to nu¬ 
merous species of bacteria and molds we are indebted 
for the many varied flavors which tickle the nerves of 
taste. 
Certain species grow best 
in damp, dark caves, and 
some of the foreign, strong, 
highly-flavored cheeses are 
ripened in these caves. 
Some species produce 
large quantities of gas which 
puffs up the cheese or leaves 
holes, large or small, few or 
many, according to the num¬ 
ber of bacteria present. Fig. 
Fig. 36. 
In some kinds of cheese, large holes are made in 
the finished product and mold spores inserted. These 
grow and give the characteristic flavor to the food. 
This is seen in the “Roquefort” which was first made 
in a French village of that name from sheep’s milk. 
Brie, Stilton, and Gorgonzola are also allowed to gain 
flavor from molds, while the Edam is inoculated with 
a bacterium. Sometimes the fermentations develop 
poisonous products of putrefaction which may result 
36. A Bacterium Which 
Makes “Swelled” Cheese. 
Molds in 
Ripening 
Cheese 
