MEMORIES OF THE 



those early days of which I speak, more particularly from 1840 

 to 1855, cheese was very low — from five to six cents — but 

 whatever it did bring, was ours. Every one about the house 

 and farm knew how to milk, and helped. Milking was done 

 early in the morning and late in the evening — a thing not so 

 good for the cows or so productive of a large and even flow of 

 milk, but it put the milking out of the way of other work. 



We did not have blooded cows; they were all grades, most 

 of them raised on the farm. Some were famous milkers, some 

 very ordinary. The cheese was made at home, with home-made 

 utensils and by primitive process, but its quality and flavor I 

 have never seen excelled. 



The method was as follows: The evening's milk was strained 

 into the big cheese-tub and left standing over night. In the 

 morning it was skimmed. Then the morning's milk was added, 

 together with the cream taken off, which was dissolved in heated 

 milk. The cooking of the milk was done by heating it in a large 

 Russia-iron pail set in a big kettle or boiler on a stove that 

 stood in the woodshed, which was the room used for the manu- 

 facture of the cheese. Sufficient rennet was added to cause it to 

 curdle or coagulate, and the whole thoroughly stirred together. 



All this was done before breakfast, and the tub covered with 

 a large strainer cloth. Immediately after breakfast, or as soon 

 as the coagulation or thickening of the milk was complete, it was 

 broken or cut up into small squares, for which a long, wooden 

 blade was used, then left to stand awhile for the whey to separ- 

 ate. A strainer cloth was then thrown over it and some whey 

 dipped into the boiler and heated. This hot whey was then 

 carefully put into the tub, gently stirred and left to stand an- 

 other half-hour. 



It usually required three heatings to properly cook the 



148 



