72 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
cheese after the growth of mold has become luxuriant and 
has turned blue. The intensity of the flavor can be partly 
regulated in this way. A higher flavor 1s produced by early 
wrapping, because. the growth of Camembert mold is thus 
somewhat checked, giving another mold, Oidium lactis, an 
opportunity to develop. 
After being wrapped the cheeses are returned to the boards 
and shelves, Often they are put in small, round boxes* in 
which they fit tightly, and in which they are later shipped to 
matket. “These boxes help to maintain the shape of the 
cheeses, which become quite soft during ripening. The cheeses 
are now transferred to the second ripening room, where 
they remain until they are ready for shipment, or, if desired, 
until they are fully ripe. During the third week the ripening 
proceeds rapidly, and the cheeses become one-half to two- 
thirds ripe. On the surface slimy reddish spots appear, and 
the cheese begins to give off a characteristic Camembert odor. 
- Between the third and the fourth week the hard curd in the 
center disappears, and the cheese has a creamy, waxlike tex-_ 
ture. The delicious flavor found in all Camembert cheeses 
is now evident. A little hard curd may still be found in the _ 
center of the cheese, but this will disappear if given time. 
In factory practice in France and also where these cheeses 
are now made in America, they are wrapped and put in boxes 
as soon as the covering of mold is well started. This is when 
they are about two weeks old. Instead of ripening further in 
the factory, they commonly are sent to market at once. Further 
ripening thus becomes a matter for the dealer. Although 
this is the common practice in France, some factories ripen 
the cheese quite fully to supply a special trade. In other cases 
dealers establish cellars, where the cheeses are taken out of 
the boxes, are unwrapped, and are ripened completely on 
shelves before selling. Others allow them to ripen as they 
may in the boxes. It seems desirable to recommend that where 
domestic factories are supplying our own market, cheeses 
be ripened far enough to guarantee good results before they 
are sent out of the factory. 
VARIOUS TROUBLES ENCOUNTERED. 
Gassy Curd. In the making of Camembert cheese, as in 
making any other kind, numerous difficulties are encountered. 
One of the most common troubles is that arising from gassy 
curd. In this case the fault generally lies in the milk, being 

; *These boxes should be about one-eighth inch smaller than cheese 
orms. 
