LIMBURGER CHEESE. Thousands of tons of Limburger are now produced every season, mostly in the States of New York and Wisconsin, says the Commercial Bulletin, at a cost of less than half of the imported article. It is consumed mostly by our German-American population. The process of manufacture in its first stages does not differ from the usual way, except that a lower temperature 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 or filth, and cleanliness is requisite in every stage of the making. Upon the curd being formed, it is slowly and carefully cut into squares, pieces the size of dice, low temperature and careful handling being necessary to avoid breaking the butter globules, upon which the richness of the cheese depends. It is slightly scalded and stirred, most of the whey drawn off, and without being salted, the curd is dipped out into 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 salt. They are turned almost every day, and the slimy moisture which exudes is rubbed with the hand evenly over the surface, which serves the double purpose of keeping the cheese moist and to close all cracks into which flies might lay their eggs. This outside moisture decomposes while the cheese ripens, and being mostly composed of albumen, like fresh meats, eggs, etc., the same results follow the decomposition, and in this case the Limburger odor is developed, which never forsakes it and sticks closer than a brother to all who touch or eat it. After eight to ten weeks it is packed in paper and tinfoil, and it 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.