154 ' THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Curdling time. One and one-half to two hours gave 

 most satisfactory results in forming curd. This should 

 be very firm and stand until it begins to " sweat/' until 

 beads of whey have begun to collect upon its surface. 



Cutting. The cow's milk curd gave best results when 

 cut in two directions with the half-inch curd knife. The 

 resulting columns, a half inch square in cross-section, 

 may be handled without excessive losses. 



Draining. The cut curd is dipped to a draining rack 

 covered with cloth with as little breaking as possible. 

 During the draining process, a certain amount of turning 

 is necessary to facilitate the separation and escape of 

 the whey. If handled too much, losses of fat are in- 

 creased and the curd becomes tough or waxy instead of 

 remaining brittle or crumbly. When properly handled, 

 not over 0.35 per cent of fat is lost. Under favorable 

 conditions, four-ninths to two-thirds of the original weight 

 of curd will separate and run off as whey in twenty to 

 thirty minutes. The curd meanwhile is exposed to the 

 air of the room and cools toward room temperature. If 

 cooling goes too far, further drainage is interfered with. 

 Hence the curd is put into the hoop and the drainage 

 completed while the cheese is reaching its final form. 



Hoop. Hoops for cow's milk Roquefort must be 

 7 J inches in diameter and about 5f inches high to hold 

 curd enough to produce a cheese the size of the standard 

 Roquefort when completely drained. Sheep's milk with 

 its higher percentage of solids does not require such 

 high hoops. The curd as it goes into the hoop should 

 be a soft, pulpy mass with no suggestion of toughness. 



Inoculation with mold. The mold for Roquefort 

 cheese (Penicillium Roqueforti 1 ) is readily grown in pure 



1 Thorn, C., U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 82, 1905. 



