170 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



added (see Chapter V) to curdle in thirty to forty min- 

 utes, although some makers shorten the time to twenty 

 minutes. When formed, the curd is cut into small cubes 

 and excess of whey is dipped away. The constantly 

 stirred mass is then heated or cooked to 100 to 105 F. 

 within a period of ten to twelve minutes or according to 

 some makers twenty to thirty minutes. It is allowed 

 to stand a few minutes to settle. Most of the whey is 

 then drawn and the mass is stirred vigorously to prevent 

 fusion of the curd granules. The curd is ready for the 

 hoop when the particles are about the size of grains of 

 wheat and do not stick together when squeezed with the 

 hand. The individual grains of curd should crumble 

 easily between the fingers. The hot curd is transferred 

 directly to the hoops without cooling. For this purpose, 

 a hoop is set upon the table covered with a cloth and the 

 curd dipped into the cloth. The edges of the cloth are 

 then folded over. In this condition the cheese is trans- 

 ferred to the press where gradually increasing pressure 

 begins with 3 to 4 pounds and reaches about 70 pounds. 

 To insure proper shape, cheeses are turned and put into 

 fresh cloths at the end of the first hour and turned subse- 

 quently several times during the pressing period of about 

 twelve hours. 1 



Port du Salut cheeses are salted by rubbing fine salt 

 on the surface by hand at the rate of 1.2 to 2 per cent 

 of the weight of the cheese. After about two days in 

 the salting process, they are put into the ripening cellars. 

 The cellars are wet, since they reach 90 to 95 per cent 

 relative humidity at a temperature of about 55 F. 

 After two days in the cellar, the cheeses are plunged 



1 Ligeon, X., Herstellung des Port Salut Eases, Milchztg. 38 

 (1909), no. 39, pages 459-460. 



