8 



FARMEES BULLETIN 960. 



to loosen any cnrd ^Yhicl^ has a tendency to adhere to the sides or 

 bottom. Unbleached cotton sheeting, which can be obtained in yard 

 widths, has proved to be the most satisfactor}^ material for drain 

 cloths. For a small-scale operation the cloth may be thrown over a 

 pail, can, or wash boiler and the ends tied securely about the draining 

 receptacle. The curd or coagulum should remain undisturbed in the 

 cloth for 3 or 4 hours, after which it should be worked toward the 

 center of the cloth in-order to hasten the draining and get it in better 



condition for han- 

 dling. Drainage is 

 allowed to continue 

 until most of the 

 visible whey has es- 

 caped and the curd 

 appears rather dry 

 as compared with its 

 former mushy con- 

 dition. Then the 

 four corners of the 

 cloth should be 

 drawn diagonally 

 across and tied. For 

 home consumption, 

 and especially when 

 it is not cooled, the 

 curd should be al- 

 lowed to drain for a 

 longer time before 

 pressing. 



Cooling the curd. — ■ 

 While the cooling of 

 the curd is very de- 

 sirable, it is not ab- 

 solutely necessary. 

 Tlje object of cool- 

 ing is to facilitate the more rapid expulsion of whey .during pressing. 

 Cooling also seems to hardp the curd so that it does not pass so 

 readily into the meshes of the drain cloth and thereby interfere with 

 and retard the expulsion of the whey. The bags of curd are placed 

 on ice, or cracked ice is placed about them and left for a few hours. 

 Pressing. — After cooling, several bags of the curd are piled to- 

 gether between two boards and a weight of 50 pounds placed on top. 

 (See fig. 2.) Frequent rearrangement of the bags will hasten the 

 process. After this weight has been left on the cheese overnight, 

 the curd should be in flat cakes. For Neufchatel it is preferable 



Fig. 2. — An improvised cheese press. 



