The Book of Cheese Part 22

+254. Sweet or fruity flavors.+--These are the sweet flavors characteristic of strawberry, raspberry and the like. Such flavors are very objectionable and usually increase with the age of the cheese. They appear to be caused by: (_a_) carrying both milk and whey in the same cans without properly cleaning them; (_b_) exposing milk near hog-pens where whey is fed; (_c_) dirty whey tanks at the cheese factory; (_d_) micro-organisms which get into the milk through any unclean conditions.

These troubles can be controlled: (_a_) if milk and whey must be carried in the same cans, the cans should be emptied immediately on arrival at the farm and thoroughly washed and scalded; (_b_) the whey vat at the factory should be kept clean and sweet; (_c_) the starter must have the proper clean flavor.

Other defects may be cla.s.sed as "off flavors," "dirty flavors," "bitter flavors" and the like. These are undoubtedly due to unsanitary conditions whereby undesirable organisms get into the milk, even though the particular organism is often not determined. The flavors may be improved by the use of a clean-flavored commercial starter and by airing the curd after milling before salting. The best remedy is to remove the source of the difficulty.

+255. Defects in body and texture.+--The body and texture should be close. A sample rubbed between the thumb and fingers should be smooth and waxy. Any condition which causes a body and texture other than this is to be avoided.

+256. Loose or open texture.+--A cheese with this defect is full of irregularly shaped holes and usually soft or weak-bodied. This is serious if the cheese is to be held for some time. Moisture and fat are likely to collect in these holes and cause the cheese to deteriorate, thereby shortening its commercial life.

Several causes may bring about this condition: (_a_) insufficient cheddaring; (_b_) pressing at too high a temperature; (_c_) inadequate pressing; (_d_) development of too little acid.

The corresponding remedies are: (_a_) cheddar the curd until the holes are closed and the curd is solid; (_b_) cool the curd to 80 F. before putting to press; (_c_) press the curd longer, possibly twenty-four to twenty-six hours; (_d_) develop a little higher acid in the whey before removing the curd.

+257. Dry body.+--A cheese with this defect is usually firm, hard and dry, sometimes rubbery or corky. This may result from lack of moisture, fat or both, and may be due to the following causes: (_a_) making the cheese from partly skimmed-milk; (_b_) heating the curd in the whey for too long a time; (_c_) heating the curd too high; (_d_) stirring the curd too much in the whey or as the last of the whey is removed; (_e_) using too much salt; (_f_) developing of too much acid in the whey; (_g_) curing the cheese in too hot or too dry a curing-room; (_h_) not piling the curd high or fast enough in the cheddaring process.

The cause should be located and the corresponding remedy found, as follows: (_a_) make cheese only from whole milk; (_b_) draw the whey sooner; (_c_) firm the curd at as low temperature as possible in the whey; (_d_) stir the curd in the whey only enough to keep the curd particles separated but do not hand-stir it; (_e_) use less salt; (_f_) develop less acid in the whey; (_g_) cure the cheese in a cool moist curing-room; (_h_) pile the curd sooner and higher during the cheddaring process.

The number of causes which may singly or in combination produce dry cheese demands experience and technical skill that calls for the development of a high degree of judgment.

+258. Ga.s.sy textured cheese.+--Ga.s.sy cheese has large numbers of very small round or slightly flattened holes. When round these are called "pin-holes," and when slightly flattened "fish eye" openings. These are due to the formation of gas by the micro-organisms in the cheese. When a cheese is ga.s.sy, it usually puffs up from gas pressure as in the rising of bread. If enough gas is formed, it will cause the cheese to break or crack open. Instead of being flat on the ends, such a cheese becomes so nearly spherical as to roll from the shelf at times.

The gas-producing organisms enter because of unclean conditions somewhere in the handling of the milk and the making of the cheese.

Some of the common sources of gas organisms are: (_a_) unclean milkers; (_b_) dirty cows; (_c_) aerating the milk in impure air, especially air from hog-pens where the whey is fed; (_d_) allowing the cows to wade in stagnant water or in mud or in filthy barnyards and then not thoroughly cleaning the cows before milking; (_e_) exposing the milk to the dust from hay and feed; (_f_) dirty whey tanks; (_g_) drawing milk and whey in the same cans without afterward thoroughly washing them; (_h_) unclean utensils in the factory; (_i_) using ga.s.sy starter; (_j_) ripening cheese at high temperatures.

Some of these causes are within the control of the cheese-maker after the making process is begun. Many of them are avoided only by eternal vigilance. Among the recommendations for meeting ga.s.sy curd are the following: use only milk produced under clean sanitary conditions; use a clean commercial starter.

If gas is suspected in the milk, a larger percentage of commercial starter should be used. More acid must be developed before the whey is removed. If the gas shows while cheddaring, the curd should be piled and repiled until the holes flatten out before milling.

The curd should be kept warm during the piling or cheddaring process.

This may be accomplished by covering the vat and setting a pail or two of hot water in it. After milling, the curd should be stirred and aired for a considerable length of time before salting. This will aerate the curd and allow it to cool. The cheese should then be placed in a cool curing-room. (See handling of ga.s.sy milk.)

+259. Acidy, pasty or soft body and texture.+--A cheese with acidy body may be either hard and dry or soft and moist. It has a mealy or sandy feeling when rubbed between the fingers. The causes and remedies are the same as for cheeses with acid flavors. When rubbed between the fingers, it is pasty and sticks to the fingers. It is caused by the cheese containing too much water. (See control of moisture.)

+260. Defects in color.+--Any color which is not uniform is a defect.

The proper color depends on the market requirement. Some markets prefer a white and others a yellow cheese; however, if the color is uniform, it is not defective.

_Mottled color_ is a spotted or variegated marking of the cheese.

Several causes may give the same general effect: (_a_) uneven distribution of moisture, the curd having extra moisture being lighter in color; (_b_) neglecting to strain the starter; (_c_) adding the starter after the cheese color has been added; (_d_) mixing the curd from different vats.

Remedies for this mottled color are: (_a_) to maintain a uniform a.s.similation of moisture (see discussion of moisture); (_b_) to strain the starter to break up the lumps before adding to the milk; (_c_) to add all of the starter before adding the cheese color; (_d_) not to mix curds from different vats.

_Seamy color._--In "seamy" colored cheese, the outline of each piece of curd may be seen. There is usually a line where the surfaces of the curd come together. It may be caused by the pieces of curd becoming greasy or so cold that they will not cement. This may be remedied by having the curd at a temperature of 80 to 85 F. when put to press. If it is greasy, this may be removed by washing the curd in cold water.

_Acid color._--This is a bleached or faded color and is caused by the development of too much acid. (See acid flavor for causes and remedies, page 266.)

+261. Defects in finish.+--Defects of this cla.s.s differ from those previously mentioned in being entirely within the control of the cheese-maker. All are due to carelessness or lack of skill in manipulation. Anything which detracts from the neat, clean, workmanlike appearance of the cheese is a defect that may interfere with the sale of an article intrinsically good. Some of the common defects are: (_a_) unclean surfaces or dirty cheese; (_b_) cracked rinds; (_c_) moldy surfaces; (_d_) uneven sizes; (_e_) cracked cheese; (_f_) wrinkled bandages; (_g_) uneven edges.

CHEDDAR CHEESE JUDGING

Judging of cheese is the comparison of the qualities of one product with those of another. To make this easier it is customary to reduce the qualities of the cheese to a numerical basis. This is accomplished by the use of a score-card, which recognizes certain qualities and gives to each a numerical value. Each of these score-cards gives a perfect cheese a numerical score of 100. Two score-cards are used to judge cheese, one for export and the other for home-trade product. The latter is more commonly used.

EXPORT SCORE-CARD HOME-TRADE SCORE-CARD

Flavor 45 Flavor 50 Body and texture 30 Body and texture 25 Color 15 Color 15 Finish 10 Finish 10 --- --- Total 100 Total 100

The same qualities are recognized in each score-card, but different numerical values are given them.

+262. Securing the sample.+--The sample of cheese to be examined is best obtained by means of a cheese-trier (Fig. 55). This is a piece of steel about five or six inches long fitted with a suitable handle. It is semicircular in shape, about to of an inch in diameter. The edges and end are sharpened to aid in cutting. This is inserted into the cheese and turned around and then drawn out. It removes a long cylinder of cheese, commonly called a "plug." This plug should be drawn from the top rather than from the side of the cheese, because when the bandage is cut it often splits, due to the pressure against it and so exposes the cheese.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 55.--A cheese-trier.]

+263. How to determine quality.+--As soon as the plug has been removed, it should be pa.s.sed quickly under the nose to detect any volatile odors which are liable to leave the cheese quickly. Next, the compactness of the plug should be noticed and the color carefully examined. Then the outer end of the plug should be broken off and placed back in the cheese in the hole made by the trier. It should be about an inch long and pushed in so that the surface of the cheese is smooth. This prevents mold and insects entering the cheese. Usually the cheese will mold after a short time where the plug has been removed. The remainder of the plug should be saved for determining the flavor and the body and texture.

The flavor can be determined by the first odor obtained from the cheese on the trier and by mixing or crushing a piece of the plug between the thumb and fore-finger and then noting the odor. Mixing and thoroughly warming causes the odor to be much more p.r.o.nounced. The cheese should seldom be tasted to determine the flavor, for when many are to be judged, they all taste alike after the first five or six. This is probably due to the cheese adhering to the teeth, tongue and other parts of the mouth, making it difficult to cleanse the mouth sufficiently. The body and texture can be determined by the appearance and the feeling of the cheese when rubbed between the thumb and fingers. The body and texture are distinct, yet they are more or less interchanged. The body refers to the cheese as a whole and the texture to the arrangement of the parts of the whole. The openness of texture or the holes can be noted when the plug is first removed. The firmness of body and smoothness of texture can be determined when the cheese is rubbed between the thumb and fingers. The color can be judged when the plug is first removed. The finish or appearance may be noted either before or after the other qualities by carefully examining the cheese.

Cheddar cheese should have a neat, clean, attractive appearance; when cut it should show a close, solid, uniformly colored interior. It should have a clear, pleasant, mild aroma and a nutty flavor. It should possess a mellow, silky, meaty texture and when rubbed between the thumb and fore-finger should be smooth and free from hard particles.

CHEESE SCORE-CARD

_Sample_................ _Date_......................

=============================================================== SCORE REMARKS ---------+-----+----------+------------------------------------ Flavor 50 ........ Body and Texture 25 ........ Color 15 ........ Finish 10 ........ ---------+-----+----------+ Total 100 ........ ---------+-----+----------+

Recommendations................................................

Name of Judge.............................

SUGGESTIVE TERMS

FLAVOR