122 CHEESE. 



drain slowly, and, after being gently pressed, is put into a 

 wooden hoop, and afterwards dried on boards with cloth 

 binders, which are tightened as the cheese hardens. Cream 

 cheese requires frequent turning. 



Some dairywomen mix tfye cream of one milking, with 

 the rennet, into the new milk they are to make their cheese 

 from. 



The best season for cheese-making is while the cows 

 are feeding on pasture, winter cheese being of an inferior 

 quality, and made with more difficulty than during warm 

 weather. 



Annotto is used for coloring cheese, particularly in Eng- 

 land. (See Annotto.) Mr. Coleman attributed the poor rep- 

 utation our cheese enjoyed abroad to its sharp, acid taste, its 

 deficiency in rich color, and its lacking a firm rind. As 

 these defects may originate partly from the preparation of 

 the rennet and the manner of salting, I have taken great 

 pains to consult some of the best English authorities, and to 

 examine personally into the management of dairies at home. 

 Among others, I am indebted to Professor Low's Elements 

 of Agriculture and Johnson's Farmer's Encyclopaedia, books 

 which I heartily wish were in the hands of every farmer in 

 the United States ; for though all matters discussed in them 

 are not applicable to this country, they are full of general 

 agricultural knowledge. 



The utensils required for making cheese are a large tub, 

 in which the milk is coagulated, and the curd broken ; the 

 cheese-knife or wooden spatula with one or more blades 

 for cutting the curd to facilitate the separation of the whey ; 

 wooden spoons for taking off the whey ; sieves, or another 

 wooden vessel perforated with holes, for further expressing 

 the whey ; small circular vats, in which the cheese is placed 

 to be compressed ; and, finally, the cheese-press. This last 

 is made from different models, and acts upon the curd by the 



