56 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



B. The handling group : 



6. Cutting or breaking the curd. 



7. Heating (cooking) or not heating. 



8. Draining (including pressing, grinding and 

 putting into hoops or forms). 



77. The composition of the milk. The fat percentage 

 in the milk in the cheese- vat should be known to the 

 cheese-maker and be strictly under his control. The fat 

 tester and the separator make this clearly possible. He can 

 go further. Milk from particular herds whose quality is 

 a matter of record from the routine test of each patron's 

 milk may be selected and brought together for the manu- 

 facturer of cheese of special quality. Control of casein 

 or lactose, on the contrary, is not nearly so practicable. 

 The purchase of milk on the fat test has become so well 

 established in most dairy territories, as to insure the 

 presence and constant use of the tester. A fat test of the 

 mixed product in the cheese- vat in connection with estab- 

 lished tables thus insures an accurate knowledge of the 

 materials which go into each day's cheese. For some 

 varieties of cheese, whole milk should always be used. 

 For other Varieties, the addition or removal of fat is 

 regularly recognized as part of the making process. The 

 presence of added fat or the removal of fat affects the 

 texture of the product and the details of the process of 

 making. 



78. Cheese color. An alkaline solution of annatto is 

 usually used as a cheese color. This colors both casein 

 and fat in contrast to butter color which is an oil solution 

 of the dye and mixes only with the fat. Cheese color 

 is added to the milk in making some varieties of 

 cheese, and not for others. When lactic starter is used, 



