152 TH CHEMISTRY OP THE FARM. 



Curd when put into the frames should contain, according 

 to Voelcker, about 54 per cent, of water when thin cheese 

 is to be made, and not more than 45 per cent, if thick 

 cheese is manufactured. The curd from skim milk will 

 contain much more water than a curd rich in butter. 

 The frames filled with curd are subjected to a gradually 

 increasing pressure for several days. The cheese is 

 finally removed from the frame and placed in the cheese- 

 room to ripen. 



In making soft cheese the curd is not cut or pressed, 

 but is simply allowed to drain in a cloth or frame. 



Cheese ripens quickest at a moderate temperature ; 

 65 70 is frequently employed at first, and afterwards 

 a lower temperature. During the operation a loss of 

 water takes place, the loss being greatest in the case of 

 poor cheese. If decay, or growth of mould, occurs, a 

 further considerable loss of weight takes place, the casein 

 and fat of the cheese being decomposed by the organic 

 life thus introduced, while carbonic acid, ammonia, and a 

 variety of other products are formed. It was once 

 believed that fat was produced during the ripening of 

 cheese ; this, however, is not the case. 



The different qualities of cheese are chiefly determined 

 by the richness of the milk; its sweetness or acidity; the 

 proportion of rennet used ; the temperature of curdling ; 

 the scalding and manipulation of the curd ; the pressure 

 to which it is subject; the temperature of the cheese- 

 room, and the age of the cheese. Curdling at a low or 

 medium temperature, the omission of scalding, and a 

 light pressure in the cheese frame, are employed in the 

 case of cheeses intended to ripen early and develop 

 mould. 



