306 TRANSACTIONS OF TUE 



CHEESE MAKING. 



STATEJIENT By SAMUEL COLE, op Stockton, 



WHOSE CHEESE WAS A>¥ARDED THE FIRST PREMItTM AT THE FAIR OF 1865. 



I warm milk at all seasons of the year, for this reason : if milk is not 

 warm, rennet Avill not operate on it, quick enough to prevent the cream, 

 from rising, the curd will not be firm, and the buttery- portions of the 

 milk will work off with the whey. 



I add rennet at eighty-four to eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit, for thi3 

 reason : milk has to be warmed so that the rennet may coagulate the 

 mass firm enough to cut up before the cream rises. 



I vary the heat in very warm weather, for this reason : milk in very 

 warm weather is apt to be a little sour, (this can be detected quicker by 

 the smell than in any other way,) when it should be warmed less, and 

 less rennet used. 



I use the German or Swiss rennet, prepared in the following way : I 

 take four rennets and put them into a stone jar, putting one gallon of 

 warm water and some salt on them, and let them stand twenty-four 

 hours, when I remove them one at a time, rubbing them at the same 

 time with the hands, to remove the strength as much as possible. I 

 then strain the liquor through a thin cloth into another jar, and return 

 the rennets to the jar; add more salt and two quarts of warm water, 

 let them stand twenty-four hours, rub them as before, and strain the 

 liquor into the jar with the other; return the rennets to the jar, add 

 more salt and two quarts more water, let them stand as above, then rub 

 them out and strain as before; mix the liquor all together and add 

 plenty of salt; put it into a jug and keep it corked tight; shake up 

 before using. One pound of this liquor will coagulate eighty to one 

 hundred pounds of cheese. 



My rule forjudging the time to commence cutting up the curd is this: 

 dip the fingers into the curd, and gcntl}^ raising it out, the curd will 

 divide, giving a smooth, glossy surface. If cut up before it gets firm, a 

 large percentage of the richness of the milk Avill pass off with the whey. 



I cut the curd fine by using D. G. Young's cast steel two-edged dairy 

 knife. The reason the curd should be cut fine is to allow the whey to 



