68 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



2 GEORGE V., A. 1912 

 CREAM CHEESE. 



The cream oheese seems, if anything, to be the more popular. It is a cheese very 

 easy to manufacture and requiring very little special apparatus. It has brought us in 

 about $3 per 100 lbs. for our milk when manufactured and handled as described here. 



The Cream. 



A suitable quantity of cream wherewith to work is two gallons or about 20 lbs 

 The cream should be fresh and should test from 12 to 18 per cent butterfat. It should 

 be brought to a temperature of about 80° F. 



A Starter. 



When at this temperature, and to this amount of cream, a starter of about half a 

 cup of good butter milk or sour cream having a pleasant flavour should be added and 

 well stirred in. 



Rennet. 



For this amount of cream dissolve 40 drops rennet in 1 ounce water and pour 

 slowly into the cream, stirring well while adding to insure thorough mixing. Let the 

 material stand for from 1£ to 2 hours or until the curd is fairly firm. A suitable dvgree 

 of firmness may be said to have been reached when the curd breaks clean in front of a 

 lead pencil or similar article moved slowly through the mass. 



Straining. 



When the curd is fairly firm, it should be removed from the whey with a skimmer 

 or ladlo and laid gently on the straining cloths which should line a couple of pails 

 preparatory to receiving the curd straining. Huckaback towelling is about the most 

 suitable material to use as a strainer. The strainers should be about 2 feet square. 

 The curd from 2 gallons of cream should be divided into 2 fairly equal portions for 

 straining. It should be allowed to hang for 24 hours. 



Salting and Pressing. 



When the whey has been fairly well strained out, say in about 24 hours, the cloth 

 should be changed, fine salt added to suit, then rewrapped and put under slight pres- 

 sure for a few hours. The degree of pressure and the length of time to be kept under 

 pressure will be indicated by the condition of the curd when salted. A soft curd would 

 need, say 8 lbs. pressure for 7 or 8 hours, while a fairly dry, firm curd might require 

 only 4 lbs. pressure for 4 or 5 hours. A common brick weighs 4 lbs., and one or two 

 serve as very suitable weights for pressing the cheese. 



Moulding. 



Pressure should be removed when the curd is dry enough, and as soon as con- 

 venient, the curd should be moulded into some suitable form. A very good shape is a 

 cylinder from 1 to 1} inches deep and about 3 inches across. Such a cheese weighs 

 from 5 to 6 ounces. When moulding, the cheese should be pressed into a cheese cloth 

 cover, just enough to protect the curd from too ready contamination and to help lend 

 firmness to the cheese. 



Selling. 



Cheeses of this size sell for 15 cents and 2 gallons cream, 16 per cent butterfat, 

 will make 20 or 21 of them. Besides the cheese cloth, an envelope, card-board or stiff 



