Milk For The Manufacture Of Cheese

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 886, 1 February 1930, Page 33

Milk For The Manufacture Of Cheese

BASIS OF PAYMENT TO SUPPLIERS AX A CONFERENCE of the Dairy Breeds Association held at Invercargill during the Royal Show, it was decided to write to all the South Island cheese factories asking each to pay according to the method recommended by. Mr P. O. Veale, scientist to the Hawera Dairy for milk supplied for. cheese-making. This method retains the present system of butterfat testing and production in terms of hutterfat, and is figured exactly as at present. The ratio of casein to fat is determined for each supplier, hut this ratio is not used to modify the amount of production. Its purpose is to produce a differential price for each supplier.

Low-testing suppliers having a high j casein ratio in their milk would re- j ceive a higher price a lb of butter-fat ! in proportion to the superior cheeseyielding .capacity of their milk a lb of butter-fat. For those suppliers whose casein ratio was the same as the factory average, the method would be identical with the “straight butter-fat” method of payment. Those suppliers whose casein ratio fell below the factory average would be paid a proportionately smaller price a lb of butter-fat. The following statement, issued by the association, is based upon the milk supplied in September, 1920. to tile Tokaora Cheese Factory, where Mr Veale conducted his experimental work, and the average payment for butterfat for that month was 13.52d: —-

ing a higher price on the London markets than New Zealand cheese. He is quoted as saying that there had been an improvement in the milk supply to Canadian cheese factories. They had no Jersey problem to contend with, and, as a result, no standardisation. There was not one Canadian factory which skimmed milk; their full cream cheese was whole-milk cheese. The fact that the average test was under 3.5 per cent, made it possible to make better-bodied cheese than would be the case with rich milk. There Mas also a great difference in the firmness of Canadian curd and New Zealand curd. In no case in Canada had he seen more than a small mug of whey in any curd. Canadian cheese was just as consistently' close as N'ew Zealand cheese was “not quite close.’* It was recognised in England that there was an improvement in the flavour of New Zealand cheese, but it became monotonous to be told day in and daj’ out that New Zealand cheese was not close enough. New Zealand cheese was uniform in flavour, but 100 uniform in openness. “More body’* was the incessant cry; they did not want to see the soft, mushy bodies in New Zealand cheese. “It is going to pay handsomely to stabilise our standardised cheese,” said Mr Singleton. “We must conskUr quality first, and not export the rttbbish we have been exporting. Nothing is going to damn standardised cheese more than the practice of going for quantity before quality.” The question of openness could be overcome by practical means—by better milk, starter ami manufacture.” In reply to a question as to whether openness in cheese was common throughout the Dominion, Mr Singleton said that he was informed that South Island cheese w r as the best, and Taranaki cheese the worst cheese in this respect. South Island cheese took first, second and third places at the ! London Dairy Show this year.

In actual practice the use of tablesand ready reckoners would make the calculations quite simple. According to tlie above, the payments would be:— Friesian, premium 18.52 d x .06 equals 1.11 d a lb fat; Ayrshire, premium 18.52 d x .01 equals o.lßd a lb fat; Jersey. deduction 18.52 d x .09 equals 1.66 d a lb fat; so that Friesian milk would be paid 19.63 d a lb fat. Ayrshire milk IS.IOd and Jersey milk 16.86 d. The statement issued by the association quotes extracts from an address given by Mr W. M. Singleton, director of ihe Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture, at a meeting of dairy factory directors and managers in Hawera last month. Mr Singleton has recently returned from a visit to Canada and England, during which he spent most of his time inquiring into the reasons for Canadian cheese bring-

Casein-rat Payment a lb of Milk! ratio. butter-fat. Friesian . . . . 0.09 18.52dxl.0G Ayrshire .. .. 0.60 I8.52dxl.01 Jersey 0.59 18.52dtx0.91 Factory average : 0.00.