88 VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S REPOKT. 



developed a nice cheesy flavor, cuts smooth and close, shows 

 butter when squeezed in the hand, apply the salt, the best you 

 can get. For a slow curing cheese, use three pounds to the curd 

 from 1,000 pounds of milk, and for cheese to ripen faster, use two 

 and one-half pounds, putting on carefully so as to have it 

 evenly distributed. After the salt has been well stirred in and 

 had time to dissolve, say about fifteen minutes, it is ready for 

 the press. 



It is not necessary to keep the "making" room shut up 

 close, as many makers do, except from the time the rennet is 

 put in the milk until the curd is cut in the vats. The cheese 

 will be all the better if there has been a free circulation of pure 

 fresh air in the room during the whole process. Of course the 

 curd should be covered with a nice, clean cloth when not 

 being stirred or turned. 



All cheese in a section, state or province (except those 

 made for a special market) should not only be uniform in make 

 but in size and finish as well. Therefore it would be well to 

 weigh the curd into the hoops so as to have the cheese all the 

 same size. If the curd has been handled carefully and has car- 

 ried the correct amount of moisture, the cheese will take a nice 

 finish if put to press at eighty-four degrees. It will not look 

 so much like fat or be so liable to puff as if put to press at a 

 higher temperature. Press gradually at first, getting stronger 

 and stronger, and in about forty-five minutes take the cheese 

 out, pull up the bandage so as to leave no wrinkles, and have 

 the same perfectly straight. Put on the capcloths nicely, then 

 put back in the press, and apply the pressure, adding to it several 

 times during the evening, but not too strongly. All cheese should 

 be turned in the press in the morning and left under pressure un- 

 til about the time the press will be needed in the afternoon. 



CURING. 



It is very important to have an even temperature of about 70 

 degrees for curing cheese. In summer, the doors and windows 

 of the curing room should be opened in the evening after sun- 

 down, and early in the morning, and closed shortly after sunrise 

 to keep out the heat. An ice-box which can be easily 

 lowered to put in the ice, and raised to near the ceiling, 

 is a very good thing to have in excessively hot weather. 

 If the day is cool, it is well to leave the shutters and windows 

 open on the shady side of the building. Cheeses will be all the 

 better for getting plenty of light and air, but they must be kept 

 out of direct draughts, and the sun should not be allowed to 

 strike them. When the weather is cool in spring and fall, pro- 

 vision should be made to keep the temperature up to about 70 de- 



