92 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



separated from the whey. This separation is hastened 

 by the application of heat. Usually the temperature 

 of the curd is raised slightly before it is broken up ; since 

 this makes the curd firmer, there will be a smaller loss of 

 curd particles in the whey. The curd may be cut with 

 coarse Cheddar cheese knives or broken with a rake. 

 The temperature of the curd should be raised very slowly, 

 at least thirty minutes being taken to reach the desired 

 final temperature. No set rule can be given as to the 

 exact temperature to which the curd should be heated. 

 The temperature should be raised until a point is reached 

 at which the curd, when pressed between the thumb and 

 the fingers, will stick together and not go back to the 

 milky state. This temperature is usually from 94 to 

 100 F., but the cheese-maker must use his own judgment 

 in this respect. If the curd is heated too much, it will 

 be hard and dry ; on the other hand, if it is not heated 

 sufficiently, the whey will not separate from the curd and 

 the latter will be very soft and mushy. 



When the curd has been heated sufficiently and has 

 become firmed in the whey, it should be removed from 

 the whey. This may be done either by letting down one 

 end of the vat and piling the curd in the upper end, or 

 by dipping out the curd into a cloth bag and allowing the 

 whey to drain, which it does very rapidly. No treatment 

 can prevent the " roughness " of an acid curd (this is 

 a fine gritty feeling when rubbed between the fingers), 

 but the coarse hard grainy texture and lumps charac- 

 teristic of the highly heated curd do not develop. 

 Experimental workers have agreed that to have the 

 proper texture, such curd should contain when finished 

 about 70 to 75 per cent of water. It should have a mild 

 but clean acid flavor. Such a cheese will carry about 1 



