Page:The story of milk.djvu/151

 well as with macaroni and is much relished by the Italians.

Limburger, Brick, Munster and other similar semi-*soft cheese of the proverbial strong flavor, originated in Belgium and Bavaria, but are now largely made in Northern New York and Wisconsin as well.

For Limburger the milk is not ripened as for Cheddar but is set with rennet quite sweet at a temperature of about 90°; the curd is cut rather soft, care being taken, however, not to lose butter-fat. The curd is but slightly "cooked," to a temperature not to exceed 96°, and is not salted in the vat but is dipped out into perforated wooden boxes or molds about 5 inches square and left to drain without pressure. The cheese are placed edge-*ways like bricks on shelves and are rubbed with salt and turned every day until cured. During the curing process moisture exudes and a fermentation takes place which develops the well-known "Limburger" flavor. After eight or ten weeks the cheese is packed in paper and tinfoil and is ready for the market.

Brick cheese is something between a Cheddar and a Limburger, of a milder flavor than either, not as hard as the former but firmer than the latter.

The milk is slightly ripened and is set with rennet at 86° so as to coagulate in 20 minutes. The curd is "cooked" to 110° or more and is not allowed to "mat" as for Cheddar cheese, but is dipped out of the vat before much acidity has developed, into the molds, which are rectangular boxes without top or bottom placed on a draining table where the whey runs off.

The mold is usually 5 inches wide, 8 inches deep and 10 inches long. When it is filled with curd a follower is put on the top and a slight weight, a couple of bricks,