158. Limburger cheese[59] derives its name from the town of Limburg in Belgium. The manufacture of this cheese is now widely practiced in Europe and in certain parts of the United States, especially in New York and Wisconsin. Practically no cheese of this name is at present imported, and the practices described are limited to those in American factories.
159. The milk.—Limburger cheese is probably best known on account of its pronounced odor. Because of this characteristic pungent smell, it is often thought that the cheese is made in dirty or unsanitary places. On the contrary, Limburger cheese is usually made in small factories which are clean and sanitary. Because of the constant attention required, a cheese-maker can handle only about 2000-2500 pounds of milk a day, and then some help is necessary to care for the cheeses in the curing room.[60] The discussion of the milk given in Chapter II applies to that to be made into Limburger cheese; however, Limburger requires sweeter milk than do some of the other types. To be sure of obtaining very sweet milk, it is the usual practice for the milk to be delivered without cooling morning and evening at the cheese factory. The cheese is made twice a day. Because the milk must be delivered twice daily, it is obtained from only a few producers near the factory. A factory usually does not have more than eight to twelve patrons. Because of the small number of patrons, it is comparatively easy to obtain a supply of fresh clean milk.
Fig. 23.—A common type of Limburger cheese factory.
The factories are variously built. A common type takes advantage of sloping ground so that the floor at one end may be on the ground level and run backward into a hillside until the other end is a cellar with small windows at the ceiling opening at the ground level ([Fig. 23]). The family of the cheese-maker often lives in the same building above the factory.
160. Making the cheese.—Limburger cheese is made from the whole milk. When the milk is received at the factory, it is placed in the cheese vat. As the milk is delivered both morning and evening without cooling, it reaches the factory at a temperature of 90 to 96° F. In some cases the night's and morning's milk is mixed and then warmed to about 94° F. This practice is not recommended but is frequently adopted, when the supply of milk becomes too small to work in two lots. As soon as all of the milk has been delivered, the cheese-making process begins. No starter is used. The milk is not ripened because no acid development during the making process is desired. The milk is set or curdled at the temperature at which it is received at the factory, usually from 90 to 96° F. Sufficient rennet extract is used to give a firm coagulation in twenty to thirty minutes. This usually requires 2½ to 3 ounces of rennet extract for each 1000 pounds of milk: This is diluted in about forty times its own volume of cold water and added to the milk. (For method of adding rennet extract to milk, see [Chapter V.]) When the coagulum has become firm so that it will split clean over the finger, the curd is ready to cut. Coarse Cheddar cheese knives are used. Sometimes only the perpendicular knife is employed, and the curd is broken up while being stirred with the hands and rake. This usually causes a large fat loss. After cutting, the curd is stirred first by hand and later with an ordinary wooden hay rake. Usually the curd is not "cooked" or heated after setting, though occasionally it is brought up as high as 96° F. to 98° F. If the curd does not firm up, the temperature may be raised to 98° to 100° F. to aid in expelling the moisture.
When ready to dip, the curd should still be in large soft shiny pieces. It requires from one hour to an hour and thirty minutes from the time the rennet extract is added until the curd is ready to dip. When, in the judgment of the cheese-maker, the curd has become sufficiently firmed in the whey, the whey is drawn down to the surface of the curd. The curd is then dipped into the Limburger molds. These molds are 5 inches square by 8 inches deep without top or bottom. Usually there are five or six of these molds built together into a section. These molds are placed on a draining table beside the vat and the curd is ladled into them with a large tin ladle. The draining table has strips on both sides and one end and slants toward the other end so that the whey will drain from the curd and yet not go on the floor except at the one end. This makes it easy to save and catch the whey for stock feed.
161. Draining and salting Limburger.—In some factories, a clean piece of burlap is put on the draining table and the molds and curd placed on the burlap. This aids in the rapid draining of the whey from the curd and prevents the loss of curd particles. The curd should be turned frequently in the mold to obtain uniform draining. The molds are transferred to the salting room as soon as well drained, usually in about twelve hours, but sometimes they are left until the following morning. Here they are placed on another draining table, which has strips about 5 inches high on the sides and one end. The cheeses are placed along this board, each cheese being separated by a piece of board 4 inches high and 5 inches wide. When the row is filled, a long strip the length of the table is placed against the row. Another row is laid down against this strip in the same manner as the first, and so on until several rows are on the table. The last long strip is held firmly in place by sticks wedged between it and the opposite side of the table. These strips and pieces form a mold for each cheese while draining. Usually the cheeses are turned several times in this period to obtain a uniform expulsion of whey. In about twenty-four hours the cheeses are ready to be salted. This is done by applying the salt to the outside of the cheese. The edges are rolled in a box of salt and the salt then rubbed on the two broad surfaces. Any excess salt is brushed from the cheese with the hand. The cheeses are then laid on a draining table in single layers. The second day, they are salted again in the same way and piled two deep; they are salted again the third day and piled three or four layers deep. The salting room or cellar should have a temperature of 60° F. and be fairly damp. The amount of salt used is very important. The tendency is to use too much salt. This retards the ripening process and in extreme cases gives the cheese a salty taste. If not enough salt is used, the cheese will deteriorate very rapidly on account of the development of undesirable types of fermentation. The cheeses when salted are then placed in the curing room, which is a cellar, usually beyond the salting room. This cellar should have a temperature of 58° to 64° F. and a relative humidity of 95 per cent of saturation. In winter it is necessary to have a fire to keep the rooms warm, otherwise the cheese would cure very slowly or not at all. In some factories the curing and salting cellars are a single room.
162. Ripening Limburger.—When first placed in the curing cellar, the cheeses are put on edge close together, and as they cure are gradually separated. While in the curing cellar, the cheese must be rubbed frequently by hand and washed, usually with salt water. The object of the rubbing is to keep the surface of the cheese moist and prevent the growth of molds. The drier the cheese and the more mold, the oftener the cheeses must be rubbed. The drying or the evaporation from the cheese can be retarded by sprinkling the floor of the cellar with water. When first placed in the curing cellar, they are usually rubbed daily; after a few days they are rubbed every other day and finally as often as the cheese-maker can find time to work at them. The more the cheeses are rubbed, the better the rind.