186 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



tions. The manufacture of Cheddar cheese is a compli- 

 cated process, because several factors must be given 

 attention at the same time. A careful record of the 

 observations of each step in the successive handling of 

 each lot of milk puts the operator in possession of a per- 

 manent record of his experience. This record has several 

 uses. It may help to convince patrons of the importance 

 of eliminating faults in the milk ; it furnishes the cheese- 

 maker a cumulative record of his experiences in handling 

 milk with special qualities, such as high or low fat-content, 

 over-acidity or taints. Since Cheddar ripening covers a 

 period of weeks and months, no operator can remember 

 particular lots of milk sufficiently well to be able to 

 use his experience on the interpretation of the qualities 

 found in the ripened product. 



193. The milk. It is the usual practice to deliver the 

 milk to the cheese factory each morning (Fig. 29). The 

 night's milk is cooled and kept clean and cold until de- 

 livered at the factory. It is advisable not to mix the cold 

 night's milk and the warm morning's milk, but to deliver 

 them in separate cans to the cheese factory at the same time. 

 The milk is weighed, sample for fat test taken and then 

 run into the vat (Fig. 30). The receiving or taking in 

 of the milk is one of the most important parts of the 

 cheese factory work. It is practically as important as 

 the actual manufacturing of the cheese. 



Any milk high in acid or with a bad flavor should be 

 avoided. It is often bad policy to reject the milk, for 

 a neighboring factory will accept it and the factory not 

 only loses the milk but also the patron. Factories should 

 have an agreement to prevent this. The acidity can be 

 determined by the acid test, but the detection of flavors 

 must be made by the cheese-maker himself with the aid 



