LIMBURGER : was originated in the town of Limburger, Belgium, but little is im ported nowadays as that of domestic manufacture is fully equal in quality to the Euro pean and is made at a cost of less than half that of the imported article. Literally thou sands of tons of Limburger are now produced here every season—principally in the States of New York and Wisconsin and chiefly for consumption by our German-Ameri can population.
The process of manufacture in its first stages does not differ from the usual method of cheese making, except that a lower temperature than for most varieties is kept while the curd is forming, the animal heat alone in summer being often high enough. Great care is taken to use pure milk, free from taint, and cleanliness is requisite in every stage of the making. Upon the curd being formed, it is slowly and carefully cut into square pieces the size of dice, careful handling being necessary to avoid breaking the butter globules upon which the richness of the cheese depends. It is next slightly scalded and stirred, and most of the whey drawn off, then, without being salted, it is dipped out in perforated wooden boxes or molds, about five inches square, and left to drain without any pressure being applied. In a few hours the packages are carried into
the curing cellar and placed edgeways on shelves, like bricks set to dry. Every day thereafter they are rolled in salt and replaced when they have absorbed enough. They are also turned almost every day, and the slimy moisture which exudes is rubbed even ly over the surface, serving the double purpose of keeping the cheese moist and closing all cracks in which flies might lay their eggs. This outside moisture decomposes while the cheese ripens, and being composed chiefly of albumen, like fresh meats, etc., the same results follow its decomposition, and the "Limburger odor" is developed— which never forsakes it and sticks closer than a brother to all who touch or eat it. After eight or ten weeks it is packed in paper and tin-foil, and is ready for market— in consistence, contents and nourishment the richest cheese that can be made, but to the uninitiated a malicious and premeditated outrage upon the organ of smell !