CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 207 



If gas is detected either before or during the cheddaring 

 process, the curd should be piled until the gas holes are 

 no longer round but flat. If the gas holes are not flattened 

 or obliterated during this process, the cheeses will be 

 very liable to puff on the shelves in the curing-room. 

 The curd should be handled until the gas holes flatten 

 out evenly, although this may require considerable time. 

 At best, gassy curd will never produce the highest grade of 

 cheese. 



Cheddaring or piling the curd is not thoroughly under- 

 stood by most cheese-makers. Because the moisture 

 contains the milk-sugar, there is danger of having so much 

 moisture present in the cheese that it will become sour 

 from the action of the lactic acid-forming bacteria on the 

 milk-sugar. A cheese may be sweet when made and later 

 become sour because it contains too much moisture or 

 milk-sugar. This is known as "shelf souring." For the 

 proper cheddaring of a curd, it is necessary that it be 

 properly firmed in the whey. If the moisture is not evenly 

 incorporated, the cheese will have a mottled color. The 

 pieces that have the more moisture will be lighter 

 colored. If the proper amount of moisture is not incor- 

 porated, the cheese will be dry and hard, and if too much, 

 soft and pasty. 



203. Milling the curd. The large pieces formed by 

 the cheddaring process must be cut into small ones before 

 the curd can be easily put into the hoop. This is called 

 " milling." Properly milled curd can be salted evenly, 

 cools more quickly and uniformly and can be distributed 

 evenly in the hoops. 



The proper time to " mill " the curd is determined by 

 its physical condition. Some curds will cheddar much 

 more rapidly than others, hence no definite length of time 



