456. The calcium and phosphorus of Cheddar and Stilton cheese: I.Cheddar and Stilton cheese of normal manufacture: II. The distribution of calcium between the crumb and coat of Stilton cheese

Abstract

The loss of calcium and phosphorus during the manufacture of hard pressed (Cheddar) and impressed (Stilton) cheese made from the same bulk of milk has been studied. It is found that there is little loss of mineral salts from the hard pressed variety either after cutting the curd during making, or while the cheese is ripening. In the case of the unpressed variety there is constantly increasing percentage loss of minerals, correlated with an increase of titratable acidity in the whey, until the last stages of manufacture when the cheese are removed from the hoops for scraping. The figures confirm those previously found (i) that in the cheese examined 57–58% of the calcium and 50–51% of the phosphorus present in the milk originally used, remains in the hard pressed ripe cheese, but that only 6–8 % of the calcium and 27 % of the phosphorus are left in the unpressed variety when ripe.