138 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



salted water every two days. After each washing, they 

 are drained for two hours on cloth, and placed on clean 

 matting. This treatment continues about fifteen days. 



After fifteen days on the matting, the cheeses are ready 

 for ripening. They are first covered with cold brine 

 and let stand twenty-four hours. The cheeses are packed 

 in rolls or tiers in boxes, covered with cloth and ripened 

 at 45 F. They must be kept moist ; if signs of drying 

 appear, moisture must be added. If the cheeses develop 

 yellow slime, they are washed with clear water and rinsed 

 in water with salt added. After a ripening period of 

 three weeks, the cheeses should begin to be soft when 

 pressed with the finger. The growth of molds must be 

 prevented by washing the boxes, cloths, and washing 

 and scraping the cheeses if necessary. When the cheeses 

 are ready for the market, they are scraped clean and 

 white, wrapped separately in cheese-cloth or parchment 

 paper and packed into the boxes. Ripe cheeses are 

 about 5 inches in diameter, 1 inch thick and weigh a little 

 over 5 ounces. 



The outline of the Raffine process follows : 



coagulation by rennet 30 minutes 



cutting and draining curd .... 2 hours 



draining in hoops . 10 hours 



stand on mats 15 days 



ripening in boxes 21 days 



Total period 36 days 



The treatment described closely resembles the handling 

 of Livarot cheese in the department of Calvados, France. 



157. Liederkranz cheese. Among the specialties in 

 the bacterial group is Liederkranz, made from curd with 

 the soft friable texture of a Camembert, molded in rec- 



