60 
LABORATORY MANUAL 
EXERCISE NO. 44 
Object: To become acquainted with the cheese moisture test. 
Procedure: Of all laws pertaining to the composition of cheese, the one 
regulating the moisture content is most rigidly enforced. 
A. Read carefully the instructions pertaining to testing the mois¬ 
ture content of butter (Series H, Exercise 40, part A). Obtain 
a representative sample of cheese and weigh out 10 grams 
in a tin or aluminum evaporating dish. Place dish in a Wis¬ 
consin high pressure oven and evaporate at a pressure of 30 
pounds for 5 hours. Allow dish to cool and place on right hand 
pan of scale. Place a 2 gram weight on the pan with the dish. 
Slide the 2 gram weight on the beam to the right to a conven¬ 
ient point on the beam and then slide the 1 gram weight to the 
right until the pans balance. The 2 gram weight on the pan 
indicates 20%, and the reading on the beams is readily ob¬ 
tained. Adding the reading on the beams to 20% will give the 
per cent of moisture present. 
B. If a 5 gram sample of cheese is weighed out instead of a 10 gram 
sample, it is unnecessary to use the 2 gram weight on the pan. 
In that case the reading on the beam obviously has to be mul¬ 
tiplied by 2 in order to give the per cent moisture. 
Note: By using a set of weights or dishes of very nearly equal 
weight, a number of samples may be weighed out on the 
same scale in rapid succession by merely keeping a record of 
the position of the small tare weight on the short graduated 
beam. 
Observations: 
Samples 
Grams Sample 
Weight after 
evaporating 
% moisture 
1 
2 
Conclusions: 
Questions: (1) Why is the butter moisture test not adaptable to cheese 
moisture testing? 
(2) How may the approximate yield of cheese be obtained from 
the fat test of milk? 
(3) How may the yield of cheese be obtained from a casein and fat 
test? 
(4) Name four suggested plans of paying for milk at the cheese 
factory and briefly illustrate each. 
References: F. & W. H 223, 224, 225, 242, 243, 244, 245, 285; Van S. pp. 
259-261; St. pp. 317-318. 
