FINEST GRADE CHEESE

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1933, Page 7

FINEST GRADE CHEESE

YIELD FOUND NOT TO SUFFER

KAPONGA COMPANY’S SUCCESS.

ADEQUATE MOISTURE REQUIRED.

STARTERS OF SPECIAL CHARACTER.

The experience of the Kaponga Dairy Company in making finest cheese was reviewed by the chairman (Mr. A. V. Tait) at the annual meeting. The company found the yield did not suffer by the policy adopted. “For a considerable time there has been much talk of the necessity for improving the quality of New Zealand cheese," Mr. Tait said, “in order to induce greater consumption to ensure that the increasing quantities produced annually can be disposed of. It has been generally held (a) that to make finest grade cheese involves the making of a drier cheese and thus sacrificing quantity, that is, yield for quality; (b) on the other hand some enhancement of price may be expected for the finest cheese so made over first grade, but this will not be sufficient t 6 affect the loss in yield; (c) consequently any company embarking on a policy of making finest cheese will be unable to produce returns competitive with its neighbour making first grade, and will accordingly suffer a loss of supply; and (d) therefore nothing can be done unless all companies generally make finest grade cheese as their objective.

“Realising, however, the urgent necessity for making finest grade cheese the objective of the industry without further delay,” Mr. Tait said, “we decided at the start of the past season to try the matter for ourselves to ascertain what percentage of finest grade cheese could be made from high-testing milk and actually what loss in yield the making of such finest cheese involved. Having in mind the necessity of not unduly prejudicing our ability to make competitive returns with Other companies, we decided at the outset to confine the course proposed to the company’s main factory. We had the further safeguard that for a number of years we have accumulated data, on the subject of the yield obtainable when making cheese of first grade from milks of varying fat contests and in’consequence we were in a position to know to what extent the yield was being prejudiced. BEST YIELD FROM FINEST. The results were enumerated by Mr. Tait as follows:—(1) From the outset cheese of 94 per cent, finest grade was made, the Kaponga factory heading the grading list at Moturoa with an average grade of over 93 points. The credit for that was primarily due to the ability of tile factory manager (Mr. Scott) and his staff and the co-operation of the suppliers with the ■ assistance of the farm dairy instructor (Mr. Croad) in supplying milk of good quality. The company was also indebted to Mr. Adams, the manager of the Lowgarth Dairy Company, for valuable information, to the Massey College staff for the same reason and ’‘for the excellent starters supplied by the college, and to the Dairy Division, particularly the chief grader at New Plymouth, whose criticism and advice were of value. (2) Contrary to anticipations and the generally accepted view, the best yield was from the finest cheese. The finest cheese carried more moisture relatively than reasonably satisfactory first grade cheese. . CONCLUSIONS REACHED. “Having carried the matter sufficiently far to demonstrate to our own satisfaction the foregoing,” Mr. Tait said,, “we felt justified in having otfr other factories follow suit, and by the end of the se'ason they also were making a satisfactory proportion of finest grade cheese with equally adequate yields. “To conclude the matter and for the benefit of others who may be interested, we venture the following as our considered views on the subject at this juncture:— . “Firstly, avoid making dry cheese. This no doubt, given time, may eventually turn out excellent cheese, but in our opinion the English trade requires from New Zealand a quickly, maturing cheese and this involves the incorporation of adequate moisture.’ “The competency of the cheese-maker being assumed, the other essentials, in our opinion, are:—(a) A starter that ,in practice is found to make close-cutting cheese. Some starters in our experience (we do not profess to know the reason why) will not, however good the milk and the care and attention of the cheese-maker, produce close cheese. In addition such scientific methods are required of propagating such'a starter as will ensure that it maintains its virtues indefinitely, (b) Sound methods and time —these two being bound up together. On the average a 10-our day is involved, (c) Reasonably good milk. “Given the foregoing, and, while admitting our ignorance on many matters, nevertheless we do not see any reason why, without any variation from the existing circumstances as regards breed, pastures and such, the major portion of the Taranaki production of cheese should not be of finest grade. It will be our aim to continue to maintain the correctness of this contention."