CHEESE, BUTTER, AND MILK With Special Reference to the Production in Britain of the Best Continental Cheeses.

Otago Witness, Issue 2171, 3 October 1895, Page 6

CHEESE, BUTTER, AND MILK Wi th Special Reference to the Production in Britain of the Best Continental Cheeses.

BY JAMES LONG.

I.— THE PRINCIPLES OF CHEESEMAKING.

In an address by Professor Henry, of the Wiscousin Agricultural College, he tells the daii^raen of his State that the loss of their cheese trade with Great Britain is owing to the fact that they do not make the best article, and that in many cases imitation cheese is produced for the sake of a possible temporary profll, but to the ultimate loss of all concerned. Whatever may be the immediate gain by the addition of foreign fat to milk, or by the removal of a portion of tho cream it contiins, the p»rm«.nent value of the checsa industry to tho producer is maintained only by the production of the best, and of its production in the largest possible quantity. To obtain quantity and quality necessitates a oloso study of the subject and a recognition of the principles which underlie the practice of cheese-making. To obtain quantity of cheese it is essential to have rich milk. We are told by those who oppose the institution of a etindard in this country that the solids present in milk do not exceed 11| to 12 per cent., but the cheesemakcr who produces or buys milk of this quality will not find his returns very satisfactory. The value of rich milk to the cheesemaker is twofold. In the first plica, cheese is chiefly composed of the fat and casein of the milk— its two most important solids— and moisture ; therefore, the more fat milk contains — and this is by far the most important con&tituent— the more cheesa we produce per gallon, for three reason* : firt-t, because the fat itself adds to the weight of the cheese; next, because with the increase of fat there is an increase of caseiD, which follows in &n almost constant ratio ; and last, it is a fact worth knowing that cheeie produced from rich milk — that is, milk containing a high percentage of fat — retains more moisture, and consequently weight is obtained from this source also. Every goad cheese ii mellow in its texture, and to some exb nfc this mellowness depends upon the p r oportii n of fat the cheese contains. Recognising these facts, we come to the first principle which it i* e«enti»l to remember, that in order to produce rich milk the cattle must bo well selected, for quality depends rather upon breed than upon food. Nor is it entirely necespary to go to the Channel Islands for rich milkers. There are milkers of a very high crder as regards both quality and quantity to be found in every British breed, particularly among shorthorns and Devons. SOIL AND CHEESF.-MAKING. It is therefore by selection and by testing the milk of cows retained in the herd, and excluding those which produce poor milk, that quality is maintained. Although, as we have remarked, breed has more influence than food upon quality, yet the production of fat in milk depends largely upon good feeding, inasmuch &» good feeding improves the yield — although it may not increase the percentage of solids— and consequently it increases the fab. Thus we get to the soil, and it is usually found that in those districts where the moßt luxurious crops are grown — grass in partiou'ar, for ifc is the commonest food of cows — the cattle are beet and the milk they pro-U.c ■ m st abundant. Soil, however, has another influence which it is essential to mention. As we shall show, acidity plays an important part in the process of cheese manufacture. But acidity is to some extent controlled by the alkaline properties which are present in milk, and as a proportion of these properties dopends to a large extent npon the soil from which they are obtained, so does the soil indirectly influence the quality of the cheese, unless, by the exercise of the highest skill, sufficient allowance is

made aud the acidity controlled. Similarly, water fxerc'ses an influence when it coutains an abnormal quantity of lime, and it is next to inifo^sible to produce fine fhvoured chewe whore 6uch weeds as garlio are common on tho pasture. The dairy, too, must be constructed with the object of providing perfect ventilation, the maiuteuauce of an eveu temperature, and the excht'ion of every possible means of oonvcying a taiut to the milk COAGULATION. Upon the first portion of the proceßi of manufacture in tho dairy — '.hat of the cotgulation of the milk— a vtry groat deal depend*. The period of the form\Uon of the curd varies iv accordance wilh the variety of the cheese produced. In the manufacture of soft cheese it is prolonged, sometimes for a considerable period ; ia the manufacture of proased ohef se it is uruilly short. The period of coagulation is iuflueuced by the quality of the milk, the condition at the time the rennot it added, its temperature, and the strength and quantity of the rennet employed. The curd produced in a shoft time ia elastic and comparatively firm ; that produced after a prolonged period of coagulation is tender, it will scarcely bear cubting, and it parts with its fit, whioh is carried off in the whoy, unlest it ia very carefully handled. Thus it will be recognised that melloT/ness in cheese ia obtained in differ- ut wayn, but without sufficient moisUire we c^n have no mellowness. Hence, if too large a proportion of rennet is edded, if too much acidity is developed, or the temperature is raised too high, the whey may be so rapidly and co completely expelled that an ins"fllcient amount of moisture will remain, either for the purpose of ripsning properly or of providing the necessary mollowne6s. In tho manufacture of prresed cheese the whey is expelled by cutting the curd— and the finer it is cut the larger the surface exposed for its removal by heating to a high temperature— by the develop- | ment of acidity, which causes the curd to contract, when more whey is expelled, and by presEing. Bub in the manufacture of soft cheese tbe curd in not cur, except iv such large Blines ns are essential for its r< moval into the moulds, but it drains away slowly by gravitation and subsequently more is lost by evaporation. The cheese is soft because it retains more moisture, and its fluvour is largely influenced by the fact that it retains more sugar — the sugar b-ing in solution in the whey— and because, in consequence, more ac : d — wbicb is produced fitm tLe sugar— is developed. A tender curd, then, such as is generally used ia soft cheese-making, is obtained by setting the milk at a low temperature and by the employment of a Email quantity of rennet. In this way coagulation will be delayed. It is u!sd essent'al that the milk used should be sweet, for if, as in pressed cheese-making, a portion of the milk used has been allowed to stand for a number of hours, acidity will have commenced to develop, and acidity hastens coagulation. ESSENTIAL POINTS. The reason why curd which h&9 bßtn cat fine in the manufacture of large pressed cheeses is left in the whey and heated, is thai unless this were done i& would not bs sufficiently acid, for the curd when drawn from the whey is crisp and dry as compared with the curd used in the mauufaclure of soft cbeese. Unless this immertion aud heating took place there would be insufficient acid, because, ac we have already j rematked, the acid depends upon the sugar, and the sugar is removed with the whey, very little remaining behipd in the comparatively dry curd. In soft cbesse-aaaking the curd is placed iv small moulds — small chooses are, indeed, essential, otherwise the whey would be unable to fiud its way to the surface ; but unless the temperature is sufficiently high, it even then refuses to move, and for this reason soft cheese-making is conducted at specific temperatures which are applied to each variety of cheeee. Theoretically, the time of coigulation is an inverse ratio to tho quantity of rennet employed, but in practico this axiom is not entirely borne out, although tha reasons do not detract from its trutb. The came conditions do not apply to large quantities of milk, or to entirely fresh milk, which app'y to small quantities or to milk which has beeu partially ripei.e3 by exposure. Thus, iv the manufacturo of small cheeses small quantities of milk are employed, and this milk parts with its heat more rapidly than is the case wilh a large ?olum?. Again, when acid is developed slightly in milk, less rennet is required, and a milk rich in fat doe 3 not produce the same remit with the same quantity of rennet as a milk peor in fat. It is important, therefore, in cheese-making to understand the quality of the milk employed, where it has bseu exposed for any number of hours, and to ascertain the quantity of acid which it cottaius. Where small qiunLiticA of rr.ilk are Bfct for curd, wco'len ve:s Is th mid be used, as wojd is a lion-c li'luclor ; lids should be employed, and the whole covered with a blanket or any other non-conducting material. ' MILK CONSTITUENTS AND CHEESE. We have referred to the nature of the solid matter oE milk. The eheesem&ker should early learn to understand that only a portion of these solids find their way into the cheese, the balk of the sugar ef milk, which forms a large proportion ol the total solid matter, remaining in the whey, together with a oortiou of the mineral

matter, the ca-ein, the albumen, and tho fat. Almost the whole of the cesein is extracted in cheeee-making, this being coagulated by rennet or by acid, whereas the albumen parses into the whey in almott all varieties of curds which are not submitted during manufacture to a high temperature, as it is coagulated only by hett. There is, however, a material, which has bstn described by American chemists as albumoso, which always passes into the whey, not being coagulated cither by heat, rennet, or acid. In accordanca with the very txtensive res-ilts obtained at the Ntw York State Experiment; Station, wh'ch we havft ha* the advai-dago of inspecting, the average percentage of solids 1 >«fc in cheeee-malring— that is, iv pat sing into the whey— amouut to 6 20 ; while the percentage of solids recovered from the milk— that-, is, retained in the cheese— amount to 6 30. The actual figures may, however, be quoted, as they are of considerable valus :— AMOUNT OP MILK CONSTITUENTS LOST IN CHEESEMAItINU

The term " nitrogen compounds " indicates casein and altumeu. The largest proportion of eolids which passed into tho whey was in the months of Augu-t and September. The smallest proportion of fat lo3t in the whey was in Juno and July, while the smallest proportion of casein and albumen loat was in the months of July and August. Upcn tbe basis of the work carried on at 48 cheese factories, it was ascertained that 506 per cent, of the totel eolids of milk were recovered, including 9098 of tho fat and 7571 per ceub. of tbe casein and albumen. It has been supposed that a larger proportion of fat is lost when tbo milk is rich than when it is poor or of but moderate quality. But tbis is not the cabo, aud the following table, whiob. I extract from my new wcrk, " Tho Elements of D*iry-f*.ruiiuff,'' will show that the percentage of fat lost when tbe milk is rich is positively lower than when it is of lower quality ; also that the percentage of cheese made is enormously inoreased as the milk increases in quality. -r, . lb Fat Per Cent Il< Cheese » J? at Lost in F.itof Marie per § Fcr ' Whey per Milk Lost lOOIIi. £ centage. ]00U) ftlilk in W h U y. Milk. 1 ;j to HT) - 32 am o 14 2 3-3 to 4 •:« sm iooj 3 4 to 4 6 '32 7 70 11-34 4 4-5 to 5 -28 5 90 12 85 5 5t05 25 -31 600 1362 Next Article : 11 The Trade in Fokkion Cheese."

Lost in Whey for 100K> Milk. Water I'otal solid % Fat Nitrogen compounds 3uc;av, ash, &c. ... Least. Greatest. Average. 82 53 8461 8370 (i 09 639 6-20 020 0 36 025 068 0 76 0 73 5 16 544 5-22 AMOUNT 01' MILK CONSTITUENTS RECOVERED IN lIEESE- MAKING. Retained in Choese for 1001b Milk. Watei L'oUl solids Fat Nitrogen compounds Lc.ibV. Greatest;. [Average. 310 4 OS 3 fiS 5-P5 «72 G'32 319 3 63 3-41 2-21 251 234