166 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



enough for the curd to break clean over the finger, it is 

 ready to cut. The curd is cut with coarse knives into 

 I- or i-inch cubes. After cutting, the curd is let stand 

 three to five minutes, then stirred with the hands for a 

 few minutes until the whey begins to separate and then 

 stirred with the rake. Some makers do not stir by hand 

 but use the rake directly after cutting. When this is 

 done, great care must be exercised to stir the curd with- 

 out breaking up the pieces, because this causes a loss of 

 fat. After cutting the curd is stirred for twenty to thirty 

 minutes before the steam is turned on. The curd is 

 heated very slowly at first and more rapidly during the 

 last stages of cooking. The curd is cooked to a tempera- 

 ture of 110 to 115 F. The lower the temperature that 

 can be used to produce firm curd, the better the texture 

 of the cheese. After cutting and during the cooking, 

 the curd must be constantly stirred so that lumps will 

 not form. When the curd forms lumps, the moisture is 

 not evenly expelled. This results in uneven texture and 

 curing. Sometimes some salt is added to the curd in 

 the vat to restrain souring. The curd is stirred after 

 cooking until it is sufficiently firm. It remains usually 

 in the whey for a total period of one and one-fourth to 

 one and one-half hours from the time of cutting. It is 

 then dipped into forms 10 inches long by 5 inches wide 

 by 8 inches deep. The forms are without top or bottom 

 and are placed on a draining table. This table is so 

 constructed that the whey can be saved for stock feed. 

 When ready to " dip," the whey is drawn down to the 

 surface of the curd in the vat, then the curd is dipped 

 into the forms or hoops. Care must be taken to get the 

 same amount of curd into each form to produce the cheeses 

 of uniform size. Each cheese is turned several times 



