THE CAMEMBERT TYPE OF SOFT CHEESE. 47 
varieties in prime condition. ‘Two weeks is the shortest period 
possible between leaving the factory and reaching the retail 
market in America. If fully and properly ripened before 
shipment these two weeks cover almost the entire marketable 
period of the cheese. To reach our market in condition for 
use at all, they must be packed and shipped before they are in 
condition for the table. In practice some are shipped before 
they are half ripe or even when the ripening has just begun. 
The change of conditions and entire lack of care in transit 
makes the resulting cheeses which reach our markets of very 
uncertain quality. It is also difficult for the casual buyer to 
determine when the cheese is really ripe. These irregularities 
furnish good reasons why such importation is SECON EIEN S to 
dealer and to consumer alike. 
On the other hand, these conditions have stimulated the pro- 
duction of certain soft cheeses in America. Particularly is this 
true of Limburger cheese for which there is a large demand. 
It has been found not difficult to manufacture, and it is now 
made in this country in a number of places with a considerable 
degree of success. In response to a similar demand a consider- 
able business has arisen in the manufacture of the forms sold 
in our market as Brie, Isigny, Wiener, lunch, miniature, etc., 
all of which though sold under all sorts of trade names, have a 
common type of ripening. Although the details of form and 
making vary with the factory, the brand, and the season, these 
may be grouped together perhaps as the ‘‘ American Brie’”’ 
type. This American Brie type must not be confused with the 
French Brie type, for the latter is quite a different product. 
These American types have made for themselves a large market 
and may be regarded asa fairly well established product. A 
preliminary study of their ripening process and the factories in 
which they are produced indicates, however, a very unsatisfac- 
tory condition. ‘The ripening is so little understood and results 
are so uncertain that one maker admitted that after the cheese 
is made the flavor of the product is practically an accident over 
which he has no control. Some of the cheeses are ruined in the 
ripening and the factories that make them lose considerable of 
their product. It is evident, therefore, that the manufacture 
of the American type of these cheeses can hardly be regarded 
as a success until some means of controlling the ripening can be 
