254 Report of the Dairy Dejpartment of thb 



rennet test, the showing required in the test cup being four 

 spaces. This indicates an acidity which, under our conditions, 

 will mature the curd sufficiently for drawing the whey in about 

 two and one-half hours. With such an amount of acid at the 

 start, the curd will, at the end of the time given, show one-eighth 

 inch fine threads upon the hot iron. 



In very few cases was the milk sufficiently " ripe " immediately 

 after heating to secure the best results as we handle it; there- 

 fore, carefully prepared sour milk was added in moderate quan- 

 tity. By this method the milk in a very short time reaches the 

 acidity required. We believe that, when the milk does not con- 

 tain quite enough acid, the addition of a sufficient amount of 

 sour milk to secure the proper degree of ripeness quickly is much 

 more satisfactory and safe than holding the milk until the acid 

 develops normally. If gas-forming bacteria are present in abund- 

 ance, holding the milk allows them to increase and doubles the 

 liability to " gassy " curd. As soon as the milk shows proper 

 conditions by the Marschall test, rennet is added at the rate 

 of 2^ ounces to 1,000 pounds of milk, this amount of good rennet 

 extract being sufficient to coagulate properly ripened milk sa 

 that, with intelligent handling of the curd, the loss of solids 

 is as small as possible. 



Tihe ourd is cut in about 30 minutes from the time the rennet 

 is added, using care to have the pieces of curd uniform in size 

 and fine enough to make a proper separation of moisture easy. 



The stirring of the curd commences as soon as the cutting is 

 completed and continues, without increasing the temperature, 

 until the separation of water from the curd is well started. The 

 heat is then gradually increased, taking about one hour to reach 

 the extreme of 98° F. If at this point there is a sufficient sepa- 

 ration et water from the curd, so that the latter has a firm ap- 

 pearance and has reached such a stage of contraction that it does 

 not pack, and the heat is uniform throughout the mass, the vat 

 is covered and allowed to stand, the curd being occasionally 

 stirred to prevent matting together and to keep it even through- 

 out. Under these conditions, with proper acidity at the start, 



