Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
"Eyes" are gas holes formed in cheese due to the production of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) by bacteria during ripening.
In Swiss-type cheeses (like Emmental), the presence of large, round, shiny eyes is a defining characteristic of the variety.
However, in close-textured cheese varieties, any gas production that disrupts the uniform, solid body of the cheese is considered a structural defect.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let us evaluate each cheese variety:
1. Emmentalar (Emmental) cheese (D) requires the development of large, characteristic eyes produced by Propionibacterium freudenreichii during ripening.
2. Gouda (A) and Edam (C) are Dutch cheese varieties made with mesophilic starter cultures.
While Gouda cheese is allowed to contain a few small, round eyes, Edam cheese is traditionally expected to have a solid, close-textured body with very few or no eyes.
The presence of distinct gas holes or eyes in Edam cheese is classified as a structural defect, often indicating contamination with gas-producing organisms like coliforms or unwanted yeasts.
3. Roquefort (B) is a blue-veined cheese where open mechanical cracks are necessary for the growth of Penicillium roqueforti, but smooth, shiny gas eyes are considered a defect.
Standard dairy grading textbooks identify Edam as a close-textured cheese where the development of eyes is treated as a defect.
Therefore, Edam cheese is the correct answer.
Step 3: Final Answer
The presence of "eyes" is considered a defect in Edam cheese.