450 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



in this district it is generally made fresh about every 

 week. 



There have been several macliines invented within the 

 last-few years for the manufacture of cheese. The princi- 

 pal of these is Keevil's patent cheese-making apparatus. 

 A similar machine, invented by Mr. Travis, of Mercaston, 

 near Derby, is also used to some extent in Staffordshire 

 and Derbyshire. These macliines possess considerable 

 merit, and I liave no doubt that fine cheese may be made 

 by them ; but, from all I can learn, I do not think tliere is 

 any saving in time and labour over the plan I am about to 

 explain. If such be the case, there is no advantage, as I 

 am sure quite as fine dairies of cheese are made by my own 

 plan, and with quite as little loss of butter from the cheese ; 

 as the amount of butter gathered from the whey-cream does 

 not exceed half-a-pound per cow per week, when the quan- 

 tity of milk is gi-eatest. 



I am not at all prejudiced against these inventions, and 

 did I believe that they improved on my own system, I 

 should be one of the first to advocate their adoption ; but I 

 know several instances in which these machines have been 

 set up, and aftei-wards the use of them discontinued. 



It is the general practice in this neighbourhood, with the 

 large dairies (at all events in the summer months), to make 

 up the milk as nearly as convenient both morning and even- 

 ing : and thus the cheese is made in a gi'eat degree of new 

 milk. Where the plan of making the cheese but once a 

 day can be conveniently carried out, there are some reasons 

 in favour of its adoption. It is one of the principal objec- 

 tions totjheese-makiog, that it keeps the cheese-makers at 

 work so late at night, when they are apt to hurry over their 

 work, and not to bestow prox)er care and attention to it. 

 Where this plan is carried out, the evening's milk must be 

 thoroughly cooled before going into the dairy ; and the 

 dairy itself should be as cool and airy as possible, otherwise 

 in warm weather the milk will not keep sweet, and the 

 cheese will be spoiled. 



Having made these general observations, which I hope 

 will not be deemed out of place, as they are all of them more 

 or less important in describing the profitable production of 

 cheese, I will proceed to describe that method of cheese- 

 making which I believe to be the most practical and scien- 

 tific. It is a method by which cheese of the finest quality 

 is made ; and I have no doubt if the plan I recommend be 

 properly earned out, fine cheese will be made. But, how- 

 ever good the theory acted upon may be, unless the greatest 

 care and attention be bestowed in the practical working of 

 it, complete success will not be attained ; there are so many 

 causes that may lead to failure. The cheeses in this neigh- 

 bourhood generally weigh^ when ready for sale, from twenty 

 to thirty pounds each. They are better not made too small, 

 and should not, as a rule, be less than twenty-five pounds 

 each. It will be found that a gallon of milk will produce 

 rather less than a pound of cheese, but it varies consider- 

 ably, according to the richness of the milk. The milk 

 should be put in the cheese-kettle at a temperature of from 

 80 to 86 degrees ; it should be varied according to the heat 

 of the atmosphere, and should be the warmest in cold wea- 

 ther. In summer it should not be more than 82 or S3 de- 

 grees. If the cheese is made almost entirely of new milk, a 

 portion of it AviU require cooling. In cold weather, and 

 when there is a considerable quantity of old milk, it will 

 require heating to bring it to the right temperature. This 

 should be done by putting a portion of the milk in a tin 

 within a furnace of hot water. By observing this plan there 

 is no risk of the milk being burnt or smoked, as there would 



be in heating it over the fire. The cream should betaken 

 off the old milk before it is heatel, and put in the kettle, and 

 the hot milk poured on it; by this means it is mixed with 

 the milk and dees not rise to the top, as it is otherwise apt 

 to do. It is better, when it can be done conveniently, to 

 have a certain portion of old milk in the cheese, perhaps 

 about one-fourth. When the milk which is intended to be 

 made up has been put in the kettle, and the temperature 

 tested by a thermometer, the colourmg (where used), and 

 then the rennet, should be put in, and thoroughly mixed with 

 the milk. A teaspoonful of saltpetre, finely powdered, 

 should also be added to each cheese, as it checks fermenta- 

 tion, and prevents the cheese from heaving. The top of the 

 kettle should then be covered with a cloth or wooden cover, 

 and the milk be allowed to stand for an hour, when it will 

 have become sufficiently firm to be broken down. 



All the milk which is not made into cheese should be 

 cooled before going into the dairy, and should not be put 

 in large quantities together, or it will not keep sweet. 



The best kind of curd breaker is fitted with knives or 

 bars, instead of wire, which bruises the cuid more and 

 makes the whey richer. 



The curd breaker should be lifted gently up and down till 

 the curd is all reduced to small pieces, when it is ready for 

 what is called gathering. This is best done by a cylin- 

 drical tin vessel, which is perforated all over with small 

 holes ; its diameter should be a little less than that of the 

 kettle, and at the bottom it has a well for the convenience 

 of lading out the whey. The gatherer should be dipped 

 sideways in the kettle, and moved slowly round a few times, 

 so as to collect the curd together in a mass ; the gatherer 

 should then be lifted out, and the curd allowed to sink to 

 the bottom of the kettle. The operation of gathering is dis- 

 pensed with by some, but I think that it forwards the work 

 of cheese-making. The curd gatherer should then be floated 

 on the top of the whey, which will ooze through the holes, 

 and may be laded off into tubs. 



The curd gatherer was invented by Mr. G. Carrington, 

 of Creighton, and it is of great utility. It is found, when it 

 is used, that the whey is very much poorer than when the 

 cheese is made by the ordinary method. There is gene- 

 rally a considerable sediment of small curd at the bottom of 

 the whey tubs, which ought to be in the cheese ; but by the 

 use of the curd gatherer this will be entirely prevented. 

 When moat of the whey is laded off, weights should be put 

 inside the gatherer, and the whey laded off as before. The 

 curd round the outside of the kettle should then be cut in 

 pieces and laid on the middle, and the weights again ap- 

 plied ; this process should be repeated two or three times, 

 when the curd will be dry enough to put in the vat. A 

 cheese-cloth should be spread over the vat, and the curd 

 should be cut in pieces and laid in it, and the edges of the 

 cloth folded over and tucked in, to prevent the curd from 

 falling out. The vat should then be placed under a light 

 lever press, and the pressure applied gradually. If the curd 

 in the kettle is intended to make more than one cheese, it 

 should be divided equally. 



The vats which are used during the making process 

 should have numerous holes in the bottom and sides to 

 allow of the whey escaping from the curd. A round flat 

 board, called a cheese shooter, is generally put on the top 

 of the cheese vats, under the lever press ; but some prefer 

 a cheese shooter made in the form of a cress, which allows 

 of the whey escaping more readily from the upper surface 

 and middle of the cheese. When the cheese has been 

 under the lever about ten minutes it should be taken out> 



