MILK PRODUCTS, OTHER THAN BUTTER 321 



wise, and horizontally. After the cutting the mass is agitated 

 gently to keep the cut surfaces from uniting. The little blocks 

 shrink rapidly and squeeze out the watery part. This is 

 called whey. 



3. Cooking. — The entire mass is now slowly warmed up to 

 a temperature of 98° F. This has the effect of increasing the 

 lactic acid and further shrinking the curd. During the heat- 

 ing the mass is stirred slowly and gently at first, but more 

 vigorously later. When the mass has reached 98° F. stir- 

 ring is stopped and some of the whey may be drawn off, but 

 enough must be left to cover the curd. When the curd is 

 tough enough to stick to a hot iron and pull out in fine 

 threads a quarter of an inch long it is ready for the next step. 



4. Cheddaring, or Matting: — The whey is now drawn off. 

 The curd now mats, or cheddars, together in the cheese vat. 

 When it is well matted it is cut into blocks about eight by 

 eight by twelve inches. These blocks are piled two deep on 

 top of each other, care being taken to put the outside faces 

 inside. This helps the draining away of the whey. After 

 a time the blocks are piled into larger piles, and later these 

 into still larger piles, each time putting the outside surfaces 

 inside. During this time the temperature is kept up in order 

 to aid the production of lactic acid, which brings about vari- 

 ous changes in the curd. The curd should now contain so 

 much acid that threads two or three inches long will pull out 

 when applied to a hot iron. 



5. Grinding. — By this time the whey has been well drained 

 away and enough lactic acid has been developed so that the 

 curd is ready for grinding. This is done in order that the 

 curd may be salted and pressed into the form of the cheese. 

 The grinding is done with a special machine called a curd- 



