434 Circular Xo. 3. 



moisture is retained, while, on the other hand, a dry curd may stand 

 \ inch (.22%) acid without serious bad effects. 



Removing the whey. — The whey should not be removed until the curd 

 is firm and springy, so that when a quantit}^ is squeezed between the 

 hands it will spring apart. Generally it takes two to three hours from 

 the time of adding the rennet to have the curd in this condition. When 

 firm, the curd should draw | of an inch of fine threads when rubbed on 

 a clean hot iron. The whey around the cvird should have .165% to 

 .175% acid, as shown by the acidimeter. This will have to be varied 

 slightly, depending on the time required for the running of the whey. 

 The most accurate rule to follow is to have .24% of acid in the whey 

 running from the curd after it has been stirred dry enough and piled up 

 for cheddaring. This means about ^ inch on the hot-iron test. It is a 

 good practice to run the whey down to the lev:^l of the curd in the vat 

 a few minutes before sufficient acid has developed. This gives better 

 control over the remainder. 



Stirring. — The proper place to stir and dry a curd is in the whey, 

 from the time the whey has reached the curd level until it is all removed. 

 This gives a brighter and better color to the curd and is easier than if 

 stirring is delayed tmtil all the whey has been removed. Too much free 

 moisture should not be left around or in the curd at this time, as it 

 causes acid to develop too fast. 



Piling. — The curd should be piled along the sides of the vat, with 

 drains between the piles. 



Cheddaring. — As soon as the cvn-d has become matted together suffi- 

 ciently, it should be cut into strips six tc eight inches wide, and turned 

 over — the top strip going on the bottom. This takes 15 to 20 minutes 

 from the time of piling. These pieces should be turned every 1 5 minutes 

 until a good grain or texture develops. By this we mean that the curd 

 will fibre out like the cooked meat on a chicken's breast. This fibrous 

 condition can be hastened by piling the curd two or three layers deep 

 each time at turning. At this time, the whey oozing from the curd 

 will show .6590 to .75% S'Cid on the acidimeter, and when a piece of the 

 curd is rubbed on the hot iron, fine threads will pull about 1 inch long. 



Milling.— -The curd should then be cut into small pieces of uniform 

 size, by a curd mill. In bin'ing a curd mill, it is advisable to get one 

 in which the cutting is done by the knives going against the curd rather 

 than one in which the curd goes against the knives. This causes less 

 loss of fat from the curd. 



