SOFT-CHEESE MAKING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 3, Issue 5, 15 November 1911, Page 405

SOFT-CHEESE MAKING.

A PROFITABLE INDUSTRY.

Miss G. Nest Davies,

N.D.D.

The making of soft cheese has been carried on in England, France, and ■other countries for a great many years. In England the practice is increasing considerably, and the manufacture applies not only among farmers but also to the factory system, while in some cases proprietary articles have been largely sold. This goes to prove that there is a large demand for many varieties of soft cheese.

In Erance soft cheeses were chiefly manufactured at first by the thrifty occupiers of small farms. The trade then developed until now it is one of the staple and most profitable industries of the country. The output of some of the largest French dairies averages during the season from one thousand to two thousand cheeses per day. A great many varieties come under the heading of soft cheese. These differ from each other in name — which is usually taken from the district in which they were first madesize, shape, method of making, and consistency and flavour ; but they all Resemble each other in being subjected to little or no pressure during the process of manufacture.

Some varieties —for instance, Camembert-are difficult to make, and .success in the art can only be obtained after much experience ; while others, such as Little Welsh, Coulommier, and cream cheese, are so simple to manipulate that their manufacture can be undertaken with fair prospect of .success even by the beginner.

In many places fancy dairy-pro are hardly obtainable, the chief reason probably being that those who have the means have not the knowledge of how 7 to prepare for market the many tasty articles that can be made from milk and cream. It not unfrequently happens that there is a surplus of milk, and its conversion into butter would not be nearly so profitable as, for example, the preparation of Devonshire cream or some kind of soft cheese. If soft cheeses were placed more frequently on the market the public taste would become educated and the consumption would increase, as, indeed, it has done so enormously in England in the case of many a foreign article no better and often worse than that made at home. It is said at the present time that long dinners are giving way to short menus ; but, whatever else goes, fruit, cream, and cheese remain, and

not only remain, but are substituted for something of a heavier nature. One important advantage of the cream and soft-cheese industry is that the best demand exists at the very time when milk is in the greatest abundance — in the spring and summer.

Reasons for encouraging the Making of Soft Cheese.

2. There is a speedy return. The cheese are ready for market in anything from a few days to a few weeks. 3. No expensive appliances or equipment are necessary, and many small cheeses can be made for home use. 4. The process of making is not complicated or difficult to understand. 5. Demand : There should be a considerable demand for small cheeses, or it could easily be created, as every one knows that cheese is one of the most nutritious articles of diet. There is every reason to believe that if cheese were put up in attractive packages of convenient size it would appeal greatly to the taste and requirements of the average householder. In proof of this, one has only to consider the popularity of cream cheese, Miniature Wensleydale, and Coulommier in England, and many other varieties imported from other countries. Given a first-rate article, its introduction should at once create a demand.

While the amount of butter imported ■ into Britain in 1910 reached 4,325,539 cwt., the receipts of margarine totalled no less than 1,120,812 cwt.

The Khedivial Agricultural Society of Egypt has voted funds for the establishment of a Mendelian Experiment Station, at Cairo, Egypt, for the study of heredity in cotton. This is probably, says the American Breeders’ Magazine, the first institution devoted to the study and application of Mendelian principles to the improvement of plants for economic purposes.

Quantity of Milk. ■r ' Quantity and Kind of Cheese. Retail Price. Each. Total 6 gallons .: 12 Coulommier .. 8d. and' 9d. 8s. 6 „ 12 Camembert ... .. 8d. 8s. 10 12 Pout 8d. and 9d. 8s. 16 „ 12 Miniature Wensleydales Is. 3d. to Is. 4d. 16s. 16 12 Little Welsh .. Is,. 3d. to Is. 4d. 16s.

1. It is profitable. The return for both milk and labour compares well with other methods of disposing of milk and milk-products, as the following table will show:-