CHEESE-MAKING. 



261 



curd, and when both are left in the vat the whey should be 

 decidedly sour and the curd perceptibly sour. 



But the better way is to draw off the whey as soon as the cook- 

 ing is completed, pack the curd together in one end of the vat, 

 elevate sufficiently to allow the whey to drain off, and let it remain 

 until the required degree of acidity is obtained. The whey often 

 contains some disturbing element injurious to the cheese, and 

 when it can be of no further service its absence is more desirable 

 than its company. The curd, moreover, is improved by exposure 

 to the atmosphere in its texture and its color. The curd may be 

 exposed to the atmosphere while undergoing the acidifying pro- 

 cess by splitting it apart horizontally with the hands, and spread- 

 ing it out and turning it over, according to Mr. McAdam's plan for 

 making Cheddar cheese ; but the best time for exposing the curd 

 to the action of the atmosphere is after grinding and salting. 

 Most dairymen who practice grinding the curd, do it as soon as 

 it becomes sufficiently soured. To this practice there are two 

 objections. First, the quantity of whey contained in the curd is 

 never known ; and second, the amount of salt dissolved by the 

 whey and carried- out with it is likewise unknown. 



The safer way is to press nearly all the whey out of the curd, 

 which can be done in a few moments, without waste, if the cheese 

 has been rightly manufactured, and then to slice up the curd with 

 a knife, run it through the curd mill, and salt it. The early 

 cheese, known as " hay cheese," should be salted at the rate of 

 one pound of good salt for sixty pounds of curd. The propor- 

 tion for grass qheese, up to about the first of September, should 

 range from fifty-two to fifty-eight pounds of curd to one of salt. 

 From the first of September to the close of the season, one pound 

 of salt will be sufficient for from fifty-eight to sixty-six pounds of 

 curd. 



I would add that where the curd is pressed before salting, the 

 salt must be fine and thoroughly mixed with the curd. If the 

 curd is not pressed before salting, an average of one pound of 

 salt for forty pounds of curd will be found none too much, and 

 may be varied through the season as above directed. 



When the temperature of the curd at the time of salting, is 

 above that of the ct^eese-room, it should be spread in the vat and 

 cooled to an even temperature with the atmosphere surrounding 

 it, or near it, before putting it to press. 



