FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1922, Page 5

FARM AND DAIRY.

STANDARDISATION OF MIKy FOR CHEESE-MAKING. Writes J. B. Laurenson to the Hawera Star:— I notice that at the annual meeting of the Egmont Box Co., Ltd., held' at Eltham recently, the question of the standardisation of milk for cheesemaking was brought up by Jdr. Marx, and an interesting discussion ensued. Mr. Marx stated that the question had suddenly become important and urgent, and I quite agree with him. What surprises me, however, is that the matter ijias not been faced before. The following is a table showing the ratio of fat to casein in normal milk of varying tests, and the pounds of cheese made for each pound of ibutter-fat in th* milk:— Percentage of Batio of fat Lbs of cheese fat in milk. to casein. made for each Fat. Casein, ib of fat in milk.

This table, which is taken from Van Glyke and Publow’s Science and Practice of Cheese-making (a standard work) shows, as regards the ratio of fat and casein in milk, that the casein does not increase as rapidly as fat does, and that therefore milk richer in fat contains less casein in proportion to fat than does milk less rich in fat. In harmony with this condition, and as a result of. it, the amount of cheese made •from a pound of fat decreases as the percentage of fat in milk increases. The regulations for the manufacture of cheese vary in different countries—in the United States from 30 to 45 -per cent of fat must be contained in the water free substance of cheese, whilst in Natal the regulation calls for 40 per cent, and .jn New Zealand 50 per cent. It is important to note that 4 per cent test milk can be skimmed down to 3.50 per cent, and the resultant cheese will still meet the New Zealand requirement, as it will contain about 53 per cent of fat in its water free substance. I claim that there is a case to answer for the standardisation of milk for cheese-making, and a conference should be called of representatives of the industry and the Department of Agriculture to go fully into the question. If nothing is done I predict that eventually the curtain will ring down on the Jersey cow as the predominating breed in Ne\r Zealand.

3.00 1 0.70 2.77 3.25 1 0.G8 2.73 3.50 1 O.GG 2.70 3.75 1 0.64 2.67 4.00 1 0.62 2.65 4.25 1 0.61 2.63 4.50 1 0.60 2.61 4.75 1 0.59 2.59 5.00 1 0.58 2.58