es 
om a 
THE CAMEMBERT TYPE OF SOFT CHEESE. 52 
to the ripening cellar. After a few days in the cellar the molds 
begin to grow upon their surface. From this time until the 
end of the ripening period there is little visible external change 
in the cheese, except in the luxuriant growth of molds and in 
the fact that during the later stages of the ripening there com- 
monly appears upon the surface of the cheese a brownish red 
growth which is likely to be moist and slimy. This brownish 
red growth has been regarded as a necessary factor in the ripen- 
ing of cheese, but whether it has any necessary connection with 
it we are as yet uncertain. During the ripening the cheeses at 
first become somewhat hard and resistant when pressed with the 
_ 

Fic. 14.—An improperly ripened Camembert cheese; the outer portion is 
liquefied, while the center is hard, sour curd. 
finger. Later they soften noticeably and when they approach 
ripeness they are quite soft and yield readily to the pressure of 
the finger. ‘The ripeness is determined chiefly by the softness 
to the touch and is easily told by experience. 
The ripening changes are studied by cutting sections of the 
cheese at various stages. The photographs show such stages 
of ripening, of which a brief epitome is as follows: 
After about two weeks the acidity of the curd begins to be 
noticeably less, especially at the surface, and as the ripening 
progresses the acidity in time disappears as far as indicated by 
