The cheese should have a pleasant, clean, mild aroma and the characteristic flavor which is usually somewhat similar to that of nuts and so is spoken of as a nutty flavor. CHAPTER XIII _COMPOSITION AND YIELD OF CHEDDAR CHEESE_ So many factors affect the composition and yield of Cheddar cheese that no positive or exact statement can be made unless other facts are definitely known. The following factors affect both the composition and yield: 1. The chemical composition of the milk. 2. Amount of moisture incorporated into the cheese. 3. The amount of solids lost in cheese-making. 4. The skill of the cheese-maker. 5. The bacterial-content of the milk. +210. Composition of milk, whey and cheese.+--The following Tables[93] VI, VII, VIII, which are the average of forty-eight factories for the season of 1893, show the minimum, maximum and average composition: TABLE VI AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF THE MILK | Minimum | MAXIMUM | AVERAGE --------------------|---------|---------|--------- Water | 86.28 | 88.30 | 87.28 Total solids | 11.70 | 13.72 | 12.72 Fat | 3.30 | 4.40 | 3.77 Casein | 2.20 | 2.85 | 2.48 Albumin | 0.52 | 0.81 | 0.69 Sugar and ash, etc. | 5.63 | 5.89 | 5.78 TABLE VII AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF THE WHEY | Minimum | MAXIMUM | AVERAGE --------------------|---------|---------|--------- Water | 92.75 | 93.28 | 93.00 Total solids | 6.72 | 7.25 | 7.00 Fat | 0.24 | 0.51 | 0.38 Casein, albumin | 0.66 | 0.99 | 0.86 Sugar, ash, etc. | 5.63 | 5.86 | 5.76 TABLE VIII AVERAGE COMPOSITION OF THE GREEN CHEESE | Minimum | MAXIMUM | AVERAGE --------------------|---------|---------|--------- Water | 33.16 | 43.89 | 37.33 Total solids | 66.84 | 56.11 | 62.67 Fat | 30.00 | 35.89 | 33.41 Casein | 20.80 | 25.48 | 23.39 Sugar, ash, etc. | 4.86 | 7.02 | 5.89 Table VI shows the minimum, maximum and average composition of the milk and Table VIII the composition of the cheese made from that milk. The average composition of the cheese in Table VIII shows that it contains 37.33 per cent of water. The tendency to-day seems to be for a softer cheese so that the average would probably be higher. Table VIII also shows the wide variation in the composition of the cheese. The moisture and total solids both vary about 10 per cent. In order to judge the variation in composition, one must know the composition of the milk and the moisture-content of the cheese and then only a very inaccurate estimate of the composition of the cheese can be formed.