THE DAIRY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 838, 23 March 1888, Page 19

THE DAIRY.

COMPOSITION OF CHEESE.

The manufacture of cheese is one of the most important industries connected with the preparation of human food from a raw material. Milk is a complete food. In at is, it contains every chemical element required for the perfect nutrition of an animal. It contains the fat and sugar needed for combustion in the lungs to support the animal heat, and the respiratory process ; the caserne to make flesh, and the salts to furnish

material for the bones. And cheese is the most conven’ent permanent form in which milk can be preserved for consumption. It contains the caseine or nitrogenous part of the milk and tho fat, leaving only the sugar and the mineral salts in the whey which escapes, These elements are moat easily made, up or substituted in the form of bread ; and hence bread and cheese make the most nutritious food for its weight that can be produoed. Cheese is composed of varying proportions of caseine, fat, water, milk acid, and some other exttactive matters and mineral salts, chiefly the salt used in its manufacture, as follow ;

Thegconsiderable difference in the quality of these samples of cheese is not any exact criterion of the market values. The exeessive quantity ot fat in the first mentioned gives no proportional money value to it in the market ; the quality mo'.t desired in cheese being due to the manner of making and curing it, rather than to the amount of butter-fat that may be contained iu it. Ibis, however, is to be taken as a general rule only, and one to which there are some exceptions. Thus, while it is true that by certain methods of making and ripening a cheese from half skim or skimmed milk may be advanced in value over some full milk cheese, yet there are some kiucs of cheese, as the exquisite English Stilton, which has cream added to the new milk and contains one quart of cream to ten quarts of new milk, which bear a very high value in the market ; but this, again, is dus quite as much to the peculiar method of making by which a most delicious flavor is given to it, as to the large quantity of fat contained in it, due to the amount of cream.

Per Cwt of Water. Fat. Ciseino. Acid, &c. Ash. Extra good.. ..30.53.. ..41.5S. ...23.38.. ..2.45 ... , .*'.06 Full milk .. ...31.70.. . .30.18. . ..27.10.. ..1.95.... , .2.9S Half skim .. . .38.43.. . .23 "'S ...32.37.. -.2.10.... . .3.8? Skim milk .. ...33.30.. ..23 21. . ..28.37.. . .G.SO.. ..3.23