THE DAIRY. 



255 



GANG CHEESE PRESS. 



dairies, in the proportion of three or four pounds to a barrel of salt, and is thought to aid in 

 preserving the flavor of cheese, as well as to improve its keeping qualities. 



How to Distinguish Good Salt. Many persons suppose that because salt is of a 

 preserving nature, that all salt to be found in the market is pure, provided it looks clean; but 

 this is far from the fact. Salt may seem to all appearance to be free from all foreign matter, 

 and yet be so impure as to greatly deteriorate the quality of the dairy products in which it is 

 used. Chlorides of calcium and magnesium are the substances in salt that most injuriously 

 affect the taste and quality of butter and cheese. 



The best method of determining the purity of salt is of course by analysis; but as 

 dairymen will not always find it convenient to be obliged to resort to this means, they should 

 be acquainted with other ways of determining its quality. One of the satisfactory evidences 

 of the purity of salt is 

 its dryness. All the 

 chlorides cause salt to 

 absorb and retain moist 

 ure; consequently the 

 more of these chlorides 

 it contains, the greater 

 the tendency to moisten. 

 Prof. Porter gives the 

 following description of 

 pure salt: &quot;A chalky, 

 very fine-grained, or pul 

 verulent salt is not the 

 best for dairy purposes, 

 and would at once be 

 rejected, 1 believe, by 

 experienced dairymen. 

 A good dairy salt ought, 

 besides being of proper 

 chemical composition, to 

 be of moderately fine 

 grain, crystalline, and 



transparent, and, when seen in a mass, of a pure white color; it ought to be free from odor, 

 and possess that sharp, pungent taste characteristic of pure salt.&quot; 



Pressing. This process expels most of the whey that remains in the curd, thus con 

 solidating it into proper form. Different sizes and kinds of hoops are employed, according to 

 the size of the cheese to be made. Cloths are used between the curd and hoops, and should 

 be adjusted in such a manner as to give the outside of the cheese a smooth appearance. The 

 cheese should be occasionally turned during the operation of pressing, which generally takes 

 from eighteen to twenty-four hours, and the press cloth renewed, after which it is taken to 

 the curing room, and turned each day and rubbed with hot butter made from the skimmings 

 of whey, to prevent cracking. The pressure should be at first gradual, since, if too great, the 

 white liquid which flows will drain away what will contain some of the best elements of the 

 cheese. Various kinds of presses are used. The gang press is now employed quite exten 

 sively in large dairies and cheese factories. 



Curing or Kipeiling. The ripening of cheese is the result of a slow process of fer 

 mentation or decay, which involves the decomposition of the casein and other matters, and 

 which develops the peculiar flavor and odor of this product of the dairy, so different from 



GALVANIZED IRON CHEESE HOOPS. 



