THE DAIRY. 559 



'' minutes after this, and then the curd is allowed to remain at rest 

 " until perfected. On cool days it is better to cover the top of 

 " the vats with cloths to retain the heat. 



" Formerly cheese-makers believed that the curd was ready 

 " for dipping out when sufficiently cooked, whether any change or 

 *' acidity was perceptible in the whey or not. It is now the 

 " almost universal practice to retain the curd in the vat until the 

 " whey is slightly sour. It is believed that this acidity has a 

 *' direct beneficial influence upon the texture and flavor of the 

 " cheese, rendering it less porous and less liable to get into that 

 " state in warm weather which dealers denominate ' out of flavor.' 

 " Here, however, is another nice point in cheese-making, to 

 " determine just how far this acidity may safely proceed, and 

 " to know precisely when the curd should be removed from the 

 " whey ; for, if permitted to go one step too far, a sour cheese is 

 " inevitable. 



" Salting. — A few cheese-makers recommend salting the curd 

 " in the vat while a small portion of the whey remains. The 

 " advantage claimed is, that the curd can be more evenly salted 

 " than in any other way. Salting is generally done in the sink, 

 " however, after the whey is drained off and the curd is pretty dry 

 " and cool. The salt is not usually put on all at once, but grad- 

 "ually, and the curd is well mixed at each salting. 



" Ordinarily, the rule for salting is about 2 -^^ pounds of salt 

 "to looo pounds of milk ; considerably less than this very early in 

 " the season, somewhat less in the autumn months, and perhaps a 

 " little more in very warm weather. 



" In Central New York, the Syracuse Factory Filled Salt is 

 " almost universally used for dairy purposes. Doubtless the Ash- 

 " ton Salt (from Liverpool) is purer and better, but it is far more 

 " expensive. 



" When thoroughly cooled., the curd is dipped into the hoops, and 

 " pressed about an hour. It is then taken out, carefully bandaged, 

 " and returned to the press, there to remain until the latter is 

 "needed again. Perhaps in no point is the ordinary practice in 

 " cheese factories so radically wrong as in pressing cheese. They 

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