278 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



off. The press is generally a jack screw which, braced 

 against a beam, will exert an enormous pressure on the 

 table below. 



Swiss cheeses are made in two styles, the " round " 

 or drum and the "block" or rectangular forms, each of 

 which has its advantages. For the round style, which 

 is most commonly made, the forms for hooping are of 

 metal or of elm wood, and consist of strips of a given 

 width, generally six inches, but of an undetermined length. 

 These strips are then made into a circle and held by a 

 cord, which is easily lengthened or shortened, thus vary- 

 ing the diameter of the hoop. 



Besides these hoops, cheese boards or followers are 

 needed. These are heavy circular boards, of a size to 

 fit that of the cheese generally made, and are banded with 

 iron around the edge and cross-braced on the bottom 

 for rigidity. The small tools of the factory consist of 

 knives to cut the curd, and of a " Swiss harp " or other 

 similar tool to stir the curd. Many clean bandages are 

 also needed, and a kettle brake. 



267. The milk. Swiss cheese requires clean sweet 

 milk. Dirt, high acid and infections with undesirable 

 bacteria involve difficulties of manufacture and frequent 

 losses of cheese. One common practice rejects milk if 

 it shows acidity above 0.15 per cent. To secure milk 

 in this condition, factories are small and located so close 

 to the producing farms as to secure 1000 to 3000 pounds 

 of milk delivered warm from the cow twice a day. The 

 cheese is made twice daily from this fresh milk. If, 

 however, milk is properly cared for, it is possible to mix 

 night's and morning's milk without bad results. In fact, 

 in working experimentally with high grade milk and 

 taking precautions against loss of fat, it has been 



