204 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



If the curd is properly firmed in the whey and the whey 

 is removed before too much acid has developed, it is im- 

 possible to make a sour cheese. 



201. Gathering the curd together. Before the last 

 of the whey has been removed, the curd should be pushed 

 back from the faucet into the upper two-thirds of the 

 vat and spread in an even layer. This layer should be 

 six to eight inches thick. The curd can be pushed back 

 with the rake or a board which will fit crosswise in the 

 vat, in which are many holes. As soon as the whey has 

 been removed so that there is not enough to wash the 

 curd into the lower part of the vat, the vat should be 

 tilted and a ditch eight to ten inches wide cut in the curd 

 through the center. The curd from the ditch should 

 be removed to either side and spread evenly. As soon 

 as all the whey has been removed, the pieces of curd scat- 

 tered about in the vat should be gathered up and placed 

 with the remainder. 



In some factories, instead of matting the curd in the 

 vat, a curd sink is used. This is a wooden receptacle 

 about the size of the vat but not so deep, with a slatted 

 false bottom. It is fitted with castors so that it can be 

 easily moved about. A cloth is placed in the sink 

 and the curd and whey are dipped upon the cloth. The 

 whey escapes very rapidly through the cloth. The curd 

 sink is an advantage in those cases in which it is de- 

 sirable to remove the whey from the curd quickly, such 

 as high acid curds which have to be hand stirred to firm 

 the curd. The disadvantage lies in the work required 

 to keep the sink and the large cloth clean. 



202. Matting or cheddaring is the distinctive feature 

 of the Cheddar process. It is the piling and matting 

 of the curd. Whether the curd is matted in the vat 



