COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 241 



Just before the salt is added, the sage extract is applied 

 to the curd. 



The sage extract can be obtained from dairy supply 

 houses, or a sage tea can be made by steeping the sage 

 leaves. In many cases the commercial extract gives the 

 cheese a strong disagreeable flavor, but not a true sage 

 flavor. The sage tea gives a flavor more like that of 

 the leaves themselves. Too much of the extract or the 

 leaves will give a very rank flavor. The sage extract 

 can best be put on the curd by means of a sprayer or 

 atomizer with which it can be evenly sprayed over the 

 entire surface. The extract should be applied two or 

 three times and the curd well stirred after each application. 

 The amount of the extract to use depends altogether on 

 its strength ; an ounce of the extract or three ounces of 

 sage tea to 1000 pounds of milk is about the correct 

 amount. After the extract has been added, the salt is 

 used at the same rate as with a normal Cheddar curd 

 and the sage curd is carried along the same as a Cheddar. 



This extract method gives a sage cheese mottled with 

 small green spots which somewhat resemble the green of 

 sage leaves. A cheese made in this way can be held for 

 a long time, as nothing has been added which can decay. 

 The only objection to this method is that the sage extract 

 may not give a true sage flavor. Therefore, the maker 

 must try to obtain the best extract possible or make his 

 own from the sage leaves. 



227. Skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese. 1 The process of 

 making skimmed-milk cheese after the Cheddar process is 

 varied with the amount of fat left in the milk. Before 

 attempting to make skimmed-milk Cheddar, one should be- 



1 Fisk, W. W., Skim-milk Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Cornell) 

 Exp. Sta. Ex. Bui. 18, 1917. 

 B 



