PROCESSED CHEESE NO LONGER A NOVELTY

Waipa Post, Volume 32, Issue 1778, 3 July 1926, Page 3

PROCESSED CHEESE NO LONGER A NOVELTY

PRICE DROP LIKELY, A CANADIAN OPINION. Whether or not the price of Canadian cheese remains high is going to depend largely on the demand for cheese for processing says a Canadian Exchange. It is understood that considerable of the fodder cheese produced during October and November has been bought for this purpose. A somewhat critical opinion on processed cheese was expressed recently by a large British cheese importer. In a letter, he wrote, as follows: . “It is evident this novelty has attracted considerable attention all over the cheese-producing centres of the world, but it is a novelty, we are inclined <to believe, that has to a great extent worn off. The best of the business hag been done, certainly the most profitable period has been passed, as there is now intense competition; several’ manufactories having been established in Canada, United States, Holland, and at home here. j RIND,DESS CHEESE:

“The feature, of 1 course, is, it is a cheese without rind, and the pioneers of it claimed that there was, consequently, no waste. This is true, if the cheese is received and sold in fresh condition, but at present the one great, disadvantage is mold development, because the retailer and tfie public will not have it it it has rvrned moldy. “The original characteristic of this particular article is that it is made from aged cheese between nine and twelve months old. This rich, ripe flavor, combined with the absence of rind, and the small package of only 51bs. each, caught on with the public. A& the demand grew, the quality was not altogether maintained, obviously because of the difficulty in getting sufficiently aged cheese. The growth of the demand, and apparently the profit in making it, brought in other imita-

,ors, and at the present time there are, to borrow the old gag, many worthless

imitations. This, together with the public tiring of paying the extra price,

30 cents per lb., as against original Cheddar styles at 24 to 28 cents per lb., has checked the business considerably We believe there will always be some measure of demand for it, and it

may conceivably grow, provided the retail price i 6 lowered, as it probably will be under the weight of 'competition. ;

“There was also a huge run on this

cheese in Germany, to a leaser degree in Belgium and France, but the demand has now faded away, partly due to the increase in the seasonal production of Dutch cheese, but to a great extent due !to the variation in quality from the original standard. A PASTE! CHEESE.

“We notice some people describe

this as a ‘paste’ cheese. You will find that this description is not correct,

and equally incorrect is the statement \ that the cheese contains excessive moisture or less butter-fat than ordinary Cheddar cheese—at least this statement is incorrect according to analyses we have personally made periodically of the two leading ‘brands. It is, in our opinion, a genuine article, and there will always be found some section of the public who will buy it, provided the standard quality is maintained and it is' sold in fresh, perfect condition.

this ehees e was sold to the wholesaler at 27 cents per lb. During last winter the price y/as advanced as high as 30 cents per lb. This killed the’.trade, and today it can be , bought at janything between 24 and 27 cents per lb. wholesale—in fact stocks are accumulating, and it may mean, before these are cleared, the price will he less than 24 cents per lb wholesale."

“One of the leading English cheese manufacturers is producing a firstclass article, ottering to deliver it free to the retailer at 28 cents per lb. This man has an advantage because he is giving an absolutely freshly-made cheese in perefct condition, but even he is finding the sale very limited. “These cheeses are packed in boxes of 51bs. each, and wired into bundles of five or six boxes to the bundle—

that is how they are sold, so that they are handled in packages of either 25 or 30 lbs. each in weight. '“We do not hold the view that this cheese is detrimental to the sale of New Zealand, Canadian, or any other Cheddar made cheese. It comes under ’the heading of what we call here ‘fancy’ cheese, and it means that the public try this type instead of some other of the various types of fancy or soft cheese, but 90 per cent of the cheese consumers prefer the Cheddar flavour all the time. On the other hand, the manufacture of this rindles fa cheesehas greatly influenced the Canadian market during the past season, and to some extent the New Zealand values here, because quantities of New Zealand cheese were sold for export to Canada to be re-made into rindless cheese, but this may not be repeated,”