EXPORTING OUR CHEESE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 8

EXPORTING OUR CHEESE.

SOME EXPERIMENTS. ."A 1 few days !ago there appeared .in The Dominion an articlo concerning tlio : • : ;p3riiffining of, Cheese,', in • which it was stated that in tho 130S-9 season an ; i experiment had been made by. tho Dairy : Division of : the Department of Agri- . ' culture, by ; securing. a big quantity of iptiraffinirig it, shipping; -some,' ■; v and holding. tho .rest Prior., to . that, • little -had -been :'dono; in: tho- matter _ in >. : .^Zealand..^.Tlio practice of - coating . export. cheese;.with paraffinswas, how r ever, is common in .Canada and. tho United States. 1 , 7- . iTho quantity of cheese secured by tne -V. Dairy, Commissioneron. the. occasion, referred •to was ten tons. Arrangements ■ wore;; -made .with tho; Greeudalo .Dairy Company that it would supply, tho cheeso at market price. '> Lato in k; .': January, 1909, a' selectiou.of 264 cheeses ■was'made from the factory ; shelves. . Every lot of six had been made f from tho samo.vat'of milk. ':; .The. cheeses;" were, weighed- singly to t; v . thoVnearest; ounce,' and .three ..out.;.of ; every'group ;of-six dipped in hot paraffin . 'Vwax.- The others were not treated. S.;- Ashipment of .132 cases. in, all - was ; prepared, eighty-eight y of. . which; '.wero jli- shipped to : London ;for tlio purpose of > ascertaining tlio amount of. , shrinkage which takes-place in transit, and . also . to obtain tho opinion of. the trade,- . throughthe - New Zealand Produce . Commissioner in London. "'; ; !••' One-third of : the V'chees.o, • forty-four i.■;;; oases,.was held. in.storo at Lyttclton, at .the temperature at which the other v portion was to bo/carried to London. ,;.- '■ Tho cheese stored atVLytteltoh' was opohed up tvro months Inter, and care- , fully'. examined, andi roweighed. ... It -was; ..found that thq.'condition wa's 'satisfac-' . tory, and 'that the- saving to shrinkage' • of the. paraffined cheeso was greater than expected.•. - ? ..-.; • 7 ■. .. The . chceso of thp s "small.-quantities 'of . '.which ;aro being paraffined7;arid : exS ported ;i3,; ; of 'course,:for'. tho; English: market. .Inquiries show'that tho Taieri, Peninsula Co., ono of "the ; well-known South- Island concerns, "is paraffining :;', r; ;its'cxport;cheose and .shipping to South Afr:ca. J,;; Speaking generally;;-New Zealand has :i?:not' : ,yet'r dono--much.;in. the; matter, of

■, paraffining cheese,'. and; the only, incentive to' go further -in • the' 'matter, appeaVs:/£o be' the 'possibility of.'saving in. the weight, of. tho.produco Tjy preventing so much shrinkage. As a salci;;; aofeV; article,vftho!' paraffined- is ' not so ; \ valuable as tho - ordinary cheese. ■ 'It is y'not i relished-so much in' and -'•.exception is taken to ; tho Canadian •. chcess. sd treated. • ' . , . 'i; v! consists 'of coating : ; V tho? cheese"withparaffin wax,Ya'nd tlie ' operation ..is.-:,ono .: necessitating very, . careful; acd expert handling. ,\ i&v: ;It;.is jinuch 'easier,to 'obtain, sue-* cess . in paraffining when .tho cheese: is E;: well'made*than when'; it:is: n'otj?" Cheese; vf with a good body opens up much better; :; .tban/p;oor-bbdied produce. Caro'baa io.' f /'exercised so •as 'riot to coat the '::.:vcheeS(3: : ivith-,tbo,. wax too soon. Tf tho wax is -applied-' before .• the rind has fqrmed,. dec'omr>osition of ,tlie :outer tion .of. the clicese will result.' That outer • V: skin will become discoloured: and de-

;:caycd,>,aiid. [smell bad. Clicese •: marketed . ill. such; a condition: • would ';';scll : ',very .poorly;;, though :' tho. inside would ?probablyy be (juite. good, as it Jvtforid-^takfe:,a* 'considerable -time for v« decay.;to.'ferment the .whole article.-. - Ono of the most important phas£s : of the question is -the temperature. at siwhiehVtlioiclieese.should'.bb'i'carried. .i