Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/637

CHEESE-MAKING. CHEETA. solid mass. This is cut up into blocks, which are turned so as to maintain a uniform heat throughout. The development of acid, which continues, changes the character of the curd, and when the hot-iron test shows threads 2 or 3 inches long the curd is ground, or, more properly speaking, cut. and salted, the salt hardening ihc curd and checking the further development of acid. It is then pressed to bring it into suit- able form and remove any surplus whey. After this it is ripened in rooms or cellars kept at a temperature not above G5° or 70° for several weeks, and even months. This ripening is an important and critical part of the process, and has much to do with determining the general quality and character of the cheese. In it the casein is peptonized and changed to forms which lire digestible, and the characteristic flavors are developed. If the temperature of the curing- room is too high, the cheese ripens rapidly, but gets off flavor and even spoils ; and if the air is too moist, the cheese molds. Low temperature and slow curing are much the safest methods, since they favor the making of cheese of the best quality. The losses in cheese-making occur in the whey and in drippings from the cheese-press. The albumin, a milk constituent similar to casein, is not coagulated by the rennet, and passes into the whey. This is true also of the milk-sugar, only a little being carried into the curd. The fat of the milk is quite largely (all but 5 or 10 per cent.) recovered in the cheese in careful making. The amount of cheese that can be made from 100 pounds of milk depends upon (1) the skill of the maker. (2) the amount of water left in the cheese, and (.3) the c(miposition of the milk. As mentioned above, the richer the milk is in fat, the greater the amount of cheese that can be made from it : hut with poor making this increase of fat in the milk may very easily be lost. In the mantifacture of other kinds of cheese than Cheddar, the details of the process are modified somewhat, or different kinds of milk are used, or the ripening process is different. In the case of a number of kinds special fer- ments are introduced into the curd to bring about desired characteristics and flavors. This is true of Roquefort cheese, which was originally made from sheep's milk, l)ul in which some cow's milk is now often used. A mold cultivated upon bread is mixed with the curd, and this gradually permeates the whole mass, giving it a mottled bluish color and imparting a characteristic flavor. The characteristics of Liniburger are also due to specific fermentations induced dur- ing ripening, whicii result in a putrefactive odor and pungent taste. This cheese is made from sweet milk, the curd being formed into cakes about .5 inches square and 2 inches thick, and not pressed. The main cause of the putrefactive fennentation during ripening is the extremely moist condition in which it is kept. The .sur- face soon begins to get shiny and soft, becoming reddish-yellow, and this changed condition gradu- ally extends to the centre. Schweitzer or Em- nienthaler cheese is made from perfectly fresh, .sweet milk — i.e. without ripening — and is of waxy texture, with large 'eyes' or holes dis- tributed evenly through it. The curing covers two stages, and is carried on in two cellars to secure the proper conditions. It requires a Vol.. IV.— M. nunflicr of months, a fine Swiss cheese being at least eight or ten months old l)efore it is eaten. The spherical dark-red Kdam cheese is made ijuite similarly to Cheddar eheesfe, the curd being placed in molds to give it its form. It is some- times made of partly skinuned milk. The curing process is practically the same as for Cheddar cheese, being continued for at least eight or ten months. The color is due to the application of an alcoholic solution of carmine when the cheese is ready for market. The rich Stilton cheese of Kngland, which is very highly esteemed, is made of milk to which cream is added, and is ripened for two years. This ripening is sometimes assisted by mixing some old grated cheese with the curd. The Italian Parmesan cheese is made from skimmed or partly skimmed milk, much like Cheddar cheese, but is ripened for a much longer time. It is not considered fit for eating vmtil a year and a half old. and the ripening does not reach its height until three or four years old. It is very iuird, and keeps almost indefinitely. The familiar cottage cheese, Dutch cheese, or smier- kjise, is made of sour milk, no rennet being used, and is eaten -nhile fresh. Part skim milk is often used, or a little cre.am or butter may be added to the curd. The American Neuchatel, which comes in little cakes wrapped in tinfoil, is likewise a soft, unripened cheese, to be eaten while fresh, but is made with sweet milk with the addition of rennet. See also Cheese Fac- tory, for more detailed accounts of the proc- esses of cheese-making, and descriptions of other kinds of cheese. BiBLioGRAPUY. Decker, Cheese-Makinr; (Co- lumbus, 1000) : Alonrad, A B C in Cheese-Making (Winnetka, 111., 1S94) : Harris, (nicese and Butter Makers' Handbook (Glasgow, 1885) ; Oliver, i/iWc, Cheese, and Butter (London, 1894) ; Long and Benson, Clieese and Cheese-Makin;/. Butter and Milk (London, 1896); Sheldon, British Dairying (London, I89ti) ; Newell, Handbook on Cheese- Making (Grand Rapids, 1889) : Wing, Milk and Its Products (New York, 1897) ; Eugling, Hand- buch fiir die praklische hiiscrri (Leipzig, 1901 ) : Eigaux, Lailcrir. beurrc et fabrication des front- ages (Paris, 1901). CHEESE RENNET. See Bed.straw. CHEETA, che'tii, CHITA (Hind. clta. from Skt. citra, spotted), or Hunting-leopard. A large tropical cat (Cynceluras jubalus) . It forms an aberrant genus of the Felidae, differ- ing from Felis prominently by its greater com- parative length and slendemess of limb, which enables it to run for a short distance with the greatest speed, probably, of any of the larger mammals, and also by the fact that its claws are short, blunt, and almost non-retractile. It therefore pursues its prey by chase rather than by stealth, and to these dog-like characteristics adds a docility unusual among eats. It is about the length of the leopard, but stands much higher: in color it varies from tJiwny to bright rufous, light/'r underneath, inarked ever^^vhere except on the throat with small, solid spots of black, which are neither rosettes nor arranged in lines; the length of the crisp, erectile hair ('hackles') on the neck and shoulders is another feature. See Plate of Wild Cats, under Cat. The cheeta is distributed over nearly all Africa, but commonly only in the equatorial jungles, and