“CHEESE NOT SOLD BY FAT.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 24 April 1925, Page 6

“CHEESE NOT SOLD BY FAT.”

FACTORY MANAGER’S LETTERAPPEAL FOR LABORATORY. (To the Editor). Sir, —Kindly allow me a little space on the matter which is at present causing a great deal of interest, namely : Mr. G. H. Buckeridge’s articles on cheesemaking. Mr. Buckeridge is quite correct, as far as ,he has gone in his articles, in stating that a higher testing milk will give- a higher yield of cheese. I notice that the figures given by most of your correspondents on butter-fat, and the ratio of. milk-fat and casein to cheese yield, are quoted from Van Slyke’s “Science and Practice of Cheese making.” Mr. Editor, would you kindly publish pages 164, 187, and 207 to 210 of this book, which should give your readers a- detailed account of the difference in value of high and low testing milk for cheesemaking? A simple illustration of this difference , can be .given in this way. Milk containing 4 per cent of the fat will give a certain .quantity of cheese, but if you take milk having one quarter more fat, 5 per cent., it will not yield one quarter more cheese. Rut the' cheese manufac. tnred; from; the 5. per cent, milk concains more fat, and should therefore be worth more. But does it actually bring a quarter more in price when placed on the market than does the dieese from the lower testing milk? 1 believe that- in some countries cheese is sold according to. its fat content, and if New Zealand cheese were sold on this basis, which obtains with a higher testing milk, would be compensated for by a higher - price for the richer cheese. i To enable this controversy to he satisfactorily settled we require a pro-pefly equipped laboratory in Taranaki. and everyone in ’ the district should- support Mr. T. A. Winks, and the Federation of Dairy Companies rft their effort to establish th-is long needed and valuable asset. Thanking you.— I -am, ate.,

C. MoQFEEN. Manutahi, April 23[Tlho ex tracks, from, Van Slyke (“TJie Science and Practice of Gheesemaking”) to which Mr. McQueen calls., attention are a is, follow: “The relation of the fat and casein in milk is an extremely important one in connection with cheesemaking. (Page 164.). The following table (P. 165) gives some indication of the influence of breed upon the relation of fat and casein:

*Breed Percent Percent Parts casein fat casein to one part fat

[*Two other breeds are given by Van Slyke—American Holderness and Devon—hut these do not enter intothe position in New Zealand.]’ “The amount of fresh or green cheese produced Iby 100 pounds of milk depends; on three factors: (1) The percentage of fat and of casein in milk. (2) Tlie percentage of fat and of casein lost in cheesemaking (3) The amount of whey retained j i\ chose. (Pages 186-7). “Table showing, the ratio of fat to cheese yield in normal milk: — '

*Pounds cheese form 100 pounds milk. tPounds of .cheese from one pound fat. “Casein does not increase as rapidly as fat does, and, therefore, milk richer iq fat usually contains less casein in proportion to fqt than does milk less rich in fat. In harmony with this condition, and as a result of it, •the amount of. cheese made for: a pound of milk-fat decreases, as the percentage of fat in milk increases. This is clearly shown in the preceding table. “An interesting fact shown in this table is that the rate of decrease of the ratio of ,fat to cheese yield is'less rapid as the* percentage of. fat in milk increases. Thus, in the case of milks containing 3 and 3.25 per cent, of fat, the decrease of cheese yield, in relation to fat is from 2.77 to 2.73, a difference of 0.04 pound; between 3.25 and 3.50, and also between- 3.50 and 3.75, the decrease is 0.03; for each 0.25 per cent, of increase of milk-fat from 3.75 to 4.75 per cent., the decrease in the ratio is only 0.02 D aiid between 4.75 and 5.00 per cent., the decrease is only 0.01. This is ; explained hv the fact that, in the case of milk rich in fat, a. smaller proportion of the fat is lost in cheesemaking than ,in the case of milk poorer in fat.

“In this connection it will he interesting to observe how the matter .varies 'out when applied in the case of the milk of the different breeds of cows:

“Before closing our. discussion of this subject, we wish to call attention to the fallacy that may be introduced by wide variations in the water content of cheese, when we are making a comparison of the yield ■ of cheese with reference to the milk-fat. For example, 160 pounds of milk containing 4 per cent, of fat may he made into cheese with a yield of 10.40 pounds in one case, and 11. GO pounds in another, the difference being wholly due to water. In one ease the yield is 2.60 pounds for one pound of milk-fat; in the other, it is 2.75 pounds. It is thus seen that, when such comparisons are to be. mnyle with reference to the relation of fat- to yield of' cheese, the cheese should contain the same percentage of water. If we-use the results there given as a basis for calculating the yield of cheese in relation to milkr fat. we find that the amount of cheese: made for one .pound of, milk-fat .varies from 2.51 to 3.11. when we ; take the

factory yield, with its great variation of water; but, if the calculation is based on cheese containing a. fixed percentage of water, the cheese -yield varies in relation to fat only from 2.GL to 2.5!). This is a much narrower range and represents such variations as are properly due to differences in: ccwniposition of milk.” (P'aiges 2f)?r2lo).]' THE PRACTICAL, MAN’S “YIELD.” (To. the Editor.) Sir, —A practical cheesemaker uses the term “yield” to mean the number of pounds of cheese lid makes; from ohe. pound of butter-fat. Fat is what is bought and cheese is what is ssold. Surely that is straight forward enough, for anvone.-—I am, etc., •REASON A£ Lit

Friesian 3.26 2.20 .67 Ayrshire 3.76 2.46 .65 Shorthorn .4.28 2.79 .65 Guernsey '5.38 2.91 .54 Jersev 5.78 3.03 .52

Per cent Pe i- cen t fait.. casein.. "Milk tF'at 3.00 2.10 8.30 2.77 3.25 2.20 8.88 ; 2.73 3.50 2.30 9.45 2.70 3.To 2:40 10.03, 2.67 4.00 2.50 10.60 2.65 4.25 2.60 11.17 2.63 4.50 1 0 11.74 • 2.61 4.75 •2.80 12.31 2.59 5.00 2.90 12.90 2.58

P ; ei" Percent Breed cent fait caiseim *Milk t'Fat F lnesian. .. .. 3.26 2.20 8.90 2.73 Ayrshire . .. 3.76 2.46 10.14, 2.70 Shorthorn .. 4.28 2.79 11.52 2.70 Ciivern.sey .. 5.38 2.91 13.51 2.51 Jersey .. 5.78 3.03 14.36 2.49 *Pouimte of cheese from lOOlb.s: milk. IPormclisi of cheese from lib fat.