No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 617 



uppermost comes against the bottom of the vat. Some whey drains 

 out and then the blocks are piled two deep, care being taken to (urn 

 in the parts that have been exposed to the air. Later, the curd is 

 re-piled in still deeper piles. This re-piling continues again and 

 again, always- observing the precaution to expose to the air the 

 portions that were turned inside on the previous piling. The object 

 of this is to keep the heat uniform through the mass. 



(2.) Matting Curd on Curd-Ka( k in Vat. — In this case racks are 

 used, made of wooden slats, just fitting nicely into the bottom of 

 the vat (see Fig. 6). They are preferably made in four-feet sections. 

 For their use, the vat is tipped and the curd shoved to the lower end. 

 One sectio«i of rack is then placed in the empty end of the vat and 

 a linen strainer thrown over it, the strainer being long enough and 

 wide enough to come up over the sides of the vat. Then the curd 

 is piled onto the rack, and broken apart to let the whey escape. 

 After stirring over several times, it is allowed to mat evenly about 

 six inches deep. If needed, the second section cao be put in place 

 and used for the rest of the curd, and then the whole is covered with 

 the strainer cloth to keep warm and, if necessary, the whole vat 

 covered with an additional heavy cloth. After ten or fifteen min- 

 utes, the curd is matted together, when it is cut into blocks and 

 treated as described above. 



(3.) Matting Curd in Curd-Sink. — After most of the whey is re- 

 moved, the curd and remaining whey are dipped ioto the curd-sink 

 and allowed to drain. Then proceed to mat, cut, pile and re-pile 

 as stated above. All things considered, the use of a curd-sink is 

 advantageous. 



Piling curd has a tendency to make a quick-curing, e^oft cheese. 

 If a slow-curing cheese is desired, the curd should be piled only 

 a little or none at all, the blocks being simply turned over and 

 over in a single layer. A curd from very ripe milk should not 

 be piled much. 



Cheddaring, or matting curd, accomplishes two results. First, 

 the whey is expelled to a considerable extent and, second, the lactic 

 acid unites with more of the curd, thus changing not only the chemi- 

 cal composition but the physical condition of the curd. From a 

 spongy, tough, rubber-like consistency, with a high water content, 

 the curd changes to a mass having a smooth, velvety appearance and 

 feeling, and a softer, somewhat plastic, consistency. The texture 

 also changes so that the curd acquires a peculiar fibrous condi 

 tion or grain, tearing off somewhat like the cooked meat of a 

 chicken's breast. Then, in addition, owing also to the increase of 

 the compound formed by the curd with lactic acid, the curd forms 

 longer strings on a hot iron, probably an loch or more after the 



