282 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Draining and hooping. In this process, the cheese- 

 makers 1 skill is displayed. With the hoop prepared, and 

 the curd at the correct stage of toughness, the operator 

 takes a press cloth, wets it in whey, slips it over a flexible 

 iron ring which can be made to fit the shape of the kettle, 

 gives the contents of the kettle a few swift revolutions, 

 then suddenly reverses the motion, with the result that 

 the contents form into a cone, and the ring and bandage 

 are dexterously slipped under this cone, and drawn up to 

 the surface of the whey with a rope or chain and pulley. 

 This part of the process is the most important, as a cheese 

 must have a smooth firm rind, else it will quickly crack. 

 With too large a batch of milk, the curd can be cut into 

 two pieces and hooped separately. With the mass of 

 curd at the top of the whey, the piece of perforated iron 

 plate just the size of the hoop is slipped under the mass, 

 and attached to the pulley by four chains. Then the 

 top of the mass is carefully leveled off, because while still 

 in the whey, it cannot mat badly and so tend to develop 

 a rind crack. Now the mass is raised clear of the whey, 

 and run along a short track to the drain table, where it is 

 put in the press. 



Pressing. The mass of curd is dropped into the 

 hoop, the edges of the cloth carefully folded under, 

 and the cloth laid on top, then the pressure is ap- 

 plied, gradually at first, but increasing until the final 

 pressure is about fifteen to twenty pounds to a pound 

 of cheese. 



During the first few hours the cloths must be changed 

 frequently, and the cheese carefully turned over each 

 time, to secure a more uniform rind. After a time the 

 changes are less frequent, and at the end of twenty-four 

 hours the cheese is taken to the salting-room. 



