ANTIQUITY OF CHEESE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 19942, 29 October 1934, Page 2

ANTIQUITY OF CHEESE

THOUSANDS OF YEARS MODERN CONDITIONS Cheese as an article of diet has been known to the human race for some thousands of years. The ancient Romans made great progress in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and among them cheese was highly esteemed and extensively used in preference to butter. History is silent regarding the difficulties they encountered in connection with their dairying operations, but we may assume they had their share of problems as we have now. A high standard of culture was reached by some former civilisations which flourished for awhile, then declined, and finally disappeared. The making of cheese to-day is a great industry which is practised, more or less, in all dairying countries. There are quite a number of different kinds of cheese made, and some varieties have a very piquant flavour due to the method employed in making them. In New Zealand the industry is primarily concerned with the manufacture of Cheddar cheese, and great quantities are exported each season. To cheese factory managers and those who supply milk to such factories what is known as yield in cheesemaking is a matter of very great importance. By the term yield is meant the number of pounds of cheese made per pound of butterfat received.

Quality the Main Essential While a high yield is in many ways ] desirable still it is a mistaken policy > to sacrifice quality in an attempt to 1 obtain a greater quantity of cheese from a given amount of milk, and this can easily be done. Any study of cheese-making must comence with the raw material, and while milk of the highest grade is required for the manufacture of all dairy products this fact must be particularly stressed regarding that required for cheesemaking. It is interesting to notice in passing, that one of the official tests of quality at all cheese factories in New Zealand is that known as the curd test. All dairy-farmers should learn to make this test without rennet, and so check the quality of the milk they obtain from their herds. The two chief constituents of milk which form, the cheese solids are but-ter-fat and casein. The other solids in cheese are comparatively smaTT, and consist of the calcium salts of various acids, the salt added in cheese-making, and almost negligible quantities of albumin and milk sugar. As the fat and casein practically determine the yield, the amount of cheese produced by one hundred pounds of milk depends mainly upon three things:—The percentage of fat and of casein in milk; the percentage of fat and casein lost in cheese-making, and the amount of whey retained in the cheese. As the amount of fat and casein in milk varies, so will the yield of cheese vary provided the cheese-making conditions are the same, and also that the quality of the milk as regards cleanliness remains the same.

Fat and Casein Content Usually when the percentage of fat in milk increases, the percentage of casein also rises, but not always in the same ratio. Also at times, high fat testing milk has a comparatively low casein content. A comparison of the yield of cheese in the milk of different breeds of dairy cows is interesting in view of the controversy regarding the need for milk used in cheesemaking, other than at per pound of butterfat.

For a list of breeds it will be sufficient to quote two only, namely,. Friesian and Jersey. In the case of the Friesian with a fat test of 3.26 per cent., the yield of cheese per pound of fat is 2.731 b., while the Jersey with a butter-fat test of 5.78 per cent., furnishes a yield of 2.491 b. of cheese per pound of butter-fat. Hence it can be understood why the supplier with a low testing herd giving a higher vield of cheese per pound of butterfat, feels that the basis of payment is not a fair one which allots his neighbour the same price per pound for fat which produces a much lower yield of cheese. Aim of the Cheesemaker The second factor affecting the yield is the percentage of fat and casein lost in the process of making the cheese. It is obvious that any butter-fat and casein lost in the whey does not contribute to the yield of cheese from a given amount of milk. It is, therefore, the aim of the cheesemaker to prevent the loss of these solids and incorporate them in the cheese. While it is impossible to prevent some loss in this direction, every effort must be made to reduce these leakages to the minimum amount. In cheesemaking, rennet is used to coagulate the milk and form what is commonly called the curd. The globules of butter-fat are held or imprisoned in the mass of curd, and care must be taken during the making process to keep them there. Quite a number of wrong actions at this time will have the effect of increasing this loss, but only a few can be mentioned now. The milk must be of high quality, free from added water, preservatives, salt, or other extraneous matter, have a low bacterial count ensuing freedom from harmful bacteria, some types of which cause loss of casein besides impairing the flavour of the cheese.

In the cutting, milling and handling of the curd, experienced workmen are necessary, as unless these operations are performed in a careful and efficient manner, losses of fat and casein occur, and the yield is diminished. The amount of whey retained in cheese has a definite bearing on the yield obtained. An excessive amount of whey conduces to a high yield, but adversely affects the quality of cheese, while insufficient moisture in the curd causes faults almost as bad as the other extreme without the compensation factor of increased yield.