Book VII. ' CHEESE MAKING. 987 



6336. Tlie milk fresh drawn from the cow is to be immediately strained into the dishes 

 or shallow troughs, if these are used, in order to promote cooling, as the surest guard 

 against fermentation. The same object may be attained by repeatedly drawing off the 

 milk from the coolers, and pouring it back again. 



6337. To understand ivhat rennet is and its uses it is necessary to premise that milk 

 is no sooner taken into the stomach, than it becomes curdled by the operation of the 

 gastric juice, as every one who has seen much of infant children must have observed. 

 What is called rennet is nothing more than the stomach of an animal in which the gas- 

 tric juices are preserved by means of salt. The application of any kind of acid will 

 cause milk to coagulate, as well as the infusion of several plants, as ladies' bedstraw 

 {Galium verum), butter-wort [Pingnicula vulgaris), and others. With the former plant 

 the Jews coagulate the milk for all their cheese ; the Mosaic law prohibiting them to 

 mingle meat with milk, and rennet they consider as meat. The maw or stomach of 

 ruminating animals, which admit of obtaining the gastric juice in a less mixed state than 

 those of others, and chiefly of a young calf that has been killed before the digestion is 

 perfected, is almost universally preferred as rennet. This bag or maw is cleaned and 

 salted in different ways in 'different districts ; but the following method described by 

 Marshal in his Rural Economy of Norfolk, is considered as one of the best. "Take 

 a calf's bag, maw, or stomach ; and having taken out the curd contained therein, wash 

 it clean, and salt it thoroughly inside and out, leaving a white coat of salt over every 

 part of it. Put it into an earthen jar, or other vessel, and let it stand three or four 

 days ; in which time it will have formed the salt and its own natural juice into a pickle. 

 Take it out of the jar, and hang it up for two or three days, to let the pickle drain from 

 it. Re-salt it, place it again in a jar, cover it tight down with a paper, pierced with a 

 large pin, and in this state let it remain till wanted for use. In this state it ought 

 to be kept twelve months; it may, however, in case of necessity, be used a few days 

 after it has received a second salting ; but it will not be so strong as if kept a longer 

 time." 



6S38. hi order to prepare this rennet for use, Marshal gives the following directions ; 

 * Take a handful of the leaves of sweet-briar, the same quantity of the leaves of the dog 

 rose, and the like quantity of bramble leaves ; boil them in a gallon of water, with three 

 or four handfuls of salt, about a quarter of an hour ; strain off the liquor, and, having 

 let it stand till perfectly cool, put it into an earthen vessel, and add to it the maw, pre- 

 pared as above To this is added, a good sound lemon, stuck round with about a 

 quarter of an ounce of cloves, which give the rennet an agreeable flavor." 



6339. The strength of the rennet thus prepared will increase in proportion to the length 

 of time during which the bag remains in the liquor ; the quantity to be used for the 

 purpose of coagulating milk can, therefore, be ascertained only by daily use and occu- 

 pation. In general, however, it may be stated, upon the average, that somewhat less 

 than half a pint of wine measure, will suflSce for fifty gallons of milk, for which quantity, 

 in Gloucestershire, the practice is to employ about one third of a pint. Throughout 

 the whole process of preparing and preserving rennet, too much attention cannot be 

 given to its cleanliness and sweetness ; for if it be kept too long, so as to become foul 

 or tainted, the cheese will invariably become affected by it, and will prove unfit for use. 



6340. Iti Holland a small quantity of the muriatic acid is used instead of rennet ; and it is the use of this 

 article which gives to the Dutcli cheese that pungent relish, which induces so many persons to prefer it 



6341. Coloring matter. As cheese in its native state, that is, such as is well manu- 

 factured, being put together in proper time, the milk being of a proper degree of 

 warmth, and in all other respects properly pressed, salted, and dried, is uniformly of a 

 bright yellow cast, the idea of excellence is generally attached to cheese of such a color. 

 Hence it has become necessary for the dairyman, who would dispose of his cheese to 

 advantage, to impart a light yellow orange color to it by artificial means. Formerly, 

 turmeric, marigolds, hawthorn buds, and other vegetables, Avere employed for this pur- 

 pose ; but these have long since been rejected for the Spanish Arnotto, which is unques- 

 tionably the best ingredient of the kind that can be used for the coloring of cheese. It 

 is a preparation of the roucon or arnotto tree (Bixa orellayia, Lin. fig. 204.), which is a 

 native of America. The red pulp, that covers the seeds of this tree, is suspended in 

 hot water, and allowed to subside, and when dry, is formed into cakes or balls, which 

 are further set aside, until they become completely dry and firm. One ounce of this 

 substance, when genuine, will be sufficient to color an hundred weight of cheese ; and 

 this is the common allowance in the county of Gloucester; in Cheshire, the weight of a 

 guinea and a half, is considered to be sufficient for a cheese of sixty pounds weight. 

 The usual mode of applying the arnotto is, to dip a piece, of the requisite size and 

 weight, in a bowl of milk, and rub it on a smooth stone, until the milk assume a deep 

 red color. This infusion is to be added to the milk, of which cheese is intended to be 

 made, in such a quantity as will impart to the whole a bright orange color, which will 



