SEMI-HARD CHEESES 167 



to insure even draining and even reduction of the temper- 

 ature. While draining, a follower is placed in each hoop 

 and a weight placed on each cheese. Usually a brick 

 is used for this weight. A cheese is allowed to drain or 

 press for ten to fifteen hours. It is then placed on the 

 salting table and rubbed with coarse salt. While on the 

 salting table, a cheese is placed on its broad side. Some 

 cheese-makers prefer to salt their cheeses by soaking them 

 in a salt brine. This brine should be strong enough to 

 float an egg. Salting requires three days. The cheeses 

 are then brushed free from excess salt and taken to the 

 cellar to cure or ripen. 



177. Ripening Brick cheese. For this process, the 

 cellars are kept at about 90 per cent relative humidity and 

 a temperature of 60 to 65 F. Some prefer a tempera- 

 ture for curing as high as 68 F. During the curing, the 

 surfaces of the cheese are kept moist and mold growths- 

 kept down by rubbing or brushing the cheese with pure 

 water or salt and water. In the curing cellars the cheeses 

 are placed on shelves ; at first they are set close together 

 and as they cure, they are separated. During curing, 

 the color changes from a whitish to a reddish brown. 

 The cheese cures from the outside toward the center. 

 When first made, the product is harsh and hard in texture 

 but during the ripening process it becomes mellow and 

 smooth. The cheeses remain on the curing shelves for 

 four to six weeks, after which they are wrapped in heavy 

 waxed paper and boxed. A cheese ready for market 

 usually weighs about five pounds. A Brick cheese box is 

 5 inches deep by 20 inches wide by 3 feet long, and holds 

 110 to 115 pounds of cheese. 



178. Qualities of Brick cheese. The cheeses should 

 be neat and attractive and the rind not cracked or broken. 



