Of the three temperatures of curing, the lowest gave a higher total score and a higher score for flavor, body and texture.
The curing temperature should not go low enough to freeze the cheese, as this lowers the quality. The cheese will cure very slowly and have a mealy texture.
242. Moisture-content of the cheese.—Other conditions being equal, there is a larger amount of water-soluble nitrogen compounds in cheese containing more moisture than in that containing less moisture. Therefore, a high moisture-content of the cheese causes it to cure faster. The presence of moisture also serves to dilute the fermentation products which otherwise would accumulate and thus check the action of the ripening agents.
243. The size of the cheese.—Cheeses of large size usually cure faster than smaller ones, under the same conditions. This is due to the fact that the large cheeses lose their moisture less rapidly by evaporation and therefore after the early period of ripening have a higher water-content.
244. The amount of salt.—The relation of salt to the rate of ripening is more or less directly associated with the moisture-content of the cheese, since an increase in the amount of salt decreases the moisture. Thus, cheese containing more salt forms water-soluble nitrogen compounds more slowly than that containing less salt. The salt also has a direct effect in retarding one or more of the ripening agents.
245. The amount of rennet extract.—The use of increased amounts of rennet extract in cheese-making, other conditions being uniform, results in the production of increased quantities of soluble nitrogen compounds in a given period of time, especially such compounds as paranuclein, caseoses and peptones.
246. The influence of acid.—It is necessary that acid be present but the exact relation of varying quantities of acid to the chemical changes of the ripening process is not fully known. If too much acid is present, it imparts a sour taste to the cheese. It also causes the texture of the cheese to be mealy or sandy instead of smooth and waxy.
Conditions that may increase the rate of ripening:
1. Increase of temperature.
2. Larger amounts of rennet.