o82 On the ManufaBure of Dutilop Cheefe, Nov, 



niedlately from tlie cows, and the other not above twelve "hours 

 old ; then the milk will not readily have contracted any taint 

 from the dilhes in which it is kept, nor from the weather, which 

 it is apt to do in fummer ; and the newer the nnlk is, it will confe- 

 quently require the lefs thickening to curdle it. Very little de- 

 pends on the fize of the cheefe \ it may be equally good from 20 

 to 60 pounds. The common mode of making them here, is thi?, 

 After the milk is broui^ht to a certain degree of heat, (no doubr, 

 the nearer that of new milk the better), it is all put into a large 

 vefTel, made on purpofe, where it receives the thickening, and i^ 

 c;overcd clofe up for a fhort time, perhaps ten or twelve mi- 

 nutes, when, if the thickening is good, it will be curdled •, then 

 it is gently (lirrcd about, when the whey begins immediately to 

 feparate, -which is always taken off as it'gathers, until the curd 

 begins to turn pretty folid ; afterwards, it is generally put into a 

 drainer, a dilh alfo made on purpofe, with fmall holes in the bot- 

 tom, on the cover of which any convenient weight is applied. 

 When it has ftood feme time this way, and pretty dry, it is re- 

 turned again into the firil diQi, where it is cut into very fmall 

 pieces, by means of a knife, which has three or four blades, fix- 

 ed on prongs from the handle, v/hich cut in a horizontal pofi- 

 tion ; and then it is falted, and properly m.ixed by the hand. 

 Laftly, it is put into a cheejut^ which is a {lout made diffi with iron 

 hoops, and a cloth is put between this difh and the curd, which 

 has a cover that goes exactly into it. In this ftatc it is put into 

 the prefs, which is a large fquare ftone, commonly from 12 to 

 10 cwt. fixed in a wooden fram.e, with an iron fcrew in the mid- 

 dle for raifing and lowering it : every now and then it is taken 

 out, and dry cloths put round it, until it parts vi-ith the whey 

 completely. When this is fufpe<Sled to be the cafe, it is laid aGde 

 for a day or two, when, if tlicre is tlie leafb appearance of whey, 

 it mud again be put into the^prefs for a few hours, and the cloth 

 will always indicate if any whey remai-ns. As fuon as it is afcer- 

 tained that there is none, the cheefe is laid p.:fl:, upon boards 

 made on purpofe, which diould always be as broad as the 

 cheefe. Sometimes it is laid upon a deal floor ; but wherever 

 they are laid, care fhould be taken to turn them frequently, and 

 to clean the boards or floor they lye on, and to notice if they 

 keep from running any whey, as no cheefe will keep well that 

 has the leaft whey remaining •, and wlien that part fours, a 

 difagreeable tafle is generally communicatd to tlie whole cheefe. 

 Indeed the m.aterial article in making cheefe is, to be attentive 

 to have the thickening (or reni'.et, as it is called in fome places), 

 particularly found and good, as the fmaller the quantity that 

 is ufed, the better for the cheefe *, and it is impoffible to have a 

 got>d cheefe, where an immoderate quantity i§ ufed j for, befides 



giving 



