CHESHIRE CHEESE. 



143 



cxird being tcdted, whi<di is the next part of the 

 process. 



If the mUk 13 set together at six o'clock, and. 

 the coasnlation takes pJace in an hour and a 

 quarter, the breaking, gathering, and prepara- 

 tion for salting is generally accomplished by 

 eleven or tvrelve o'clock. 



This is merely mentioned as some guide to the 

 new beginner, -who may not be able to judge 

 fixim the state of the curd -when it is fit for salt- 

 ing. I may here observe that it is the practice 

 ia some dairies to salt the curd, %vhilst, in my 

 opinion, there is too m iich ichey in it. 



The quantity of salt used is regulated by 

 some old custom, or by the fancy or taste of the 

 dairy-maid, and v,-ixh about as good a chance 

 of correcmess as that with which die regulates 

 the temperature of the nulk by the touch. That 

 clever and experienced persons may determine 

 the proper quantity of salt in this way tolerably 

 weU, I admit : but there are many others who 

 fall in'o error, and all for leant of some fixed 

 'rule. K there be a certain proportion of salt 

 which would answer the purpose best, which 

 there doubtless is, why not ascertain and adopt 

 it? 



'• In all dairies " I'says Mr. Wedge, the author 

 of the orisinal • Report of the Agriculture of 

 Cheshire,' written many years ago, but still 

 equally truei •■ the same points are admitted to 

 be essential, but althous-h the means of obtain- 

 ing those are, upon farms similarly circum- 

 stanced, so far alike, as to diifer mat^jially in the 

 minutiae only, yet upon these minutiaB much of 

 the art of cheese-making depends. 



•' That an exact uniformity does not prevail in 

 every part of the process, is no wonder : for 

 there is not any of the business which is con- 

 ducted in a dairy which tends to chemical ex- 

 actness. Where there is no precision, there can 

 be no just comparison : and ^vhere no compari- 

 son can be made, there exists no foundation for 

 an attempt at uniformity. The degree of heat 

 at setting dte milk tosrether is never measured, 

 ike quantity of steep is s^uessed at, and its qaal- 

 ily not exacdy known ; the qvantity of salt 

 necessary is undelined. and the sweatins or 

 ferment fiig of the cheese, when made, is acci- 

 dental." 



As an antiseptic, a certain quantity of salt is 

 necessary : it is tlie same in this respect with 

 cheese as it is ^Nath butter or bacon. There may 

 be. and no doubt are, differences of opinion, 

 both amoncst makers and consumers of cheese, 

 as to the desree of saltness which is best ; and 

 it may be necessary, in order to suit the palates 

 of the man y. that there should be a ranetu. I 

 am ■willins to admit the force of the argument. 

 80 far. that there misht be these shades of differ- 

 ence in did'erent dairies, but think that they 

 ought n»t to exist in one and the same dairy. — 

 Each maker strives at tinilormity as regards the 

 thickness and color of his cheese, and would 

 like also to attain umibrmity in flavor if he could. 

 Why not. therefore, measure or •weigh the salt 

 before using : reaiilatinff the same by the quan- 

 tity of milk or the Nveight or quantity of curd .'* 



* Since writing the above I have learnt that a farm- 

 er in South Che.=hire, we'll known for his introduc- 

 tion of improvements in agriculrure, has commenced 

 the system of weighine his curd previous to saltins it 

 and he says he uses salt in the proportion of 1 \b. to 

 4C rt>s of curd. He also informs me he sets his milk 

 together bv a thermometer, and at a temperamre of 

 7^ or 77-.— May, 1S15. 



I The former would easily be ascertained by 

 I means of a gauge, or graduated rod, which any 

 j farmer might make for himseh". to suit his ovm 

 I cheese-tub. The way to make it v^ould be to 

 j pour into the tub a gallon of -w-ater, or any liquid, 

 , and then to note its higfct; and mark it on the 

 I rod. This being done, put in anod>er gallon and 

 j a?ain mark the bight, and so on tmiil the tub is 

 : full; taking care afterwards to introduce the rod 

 ' into the same part of the tub, as the bottoms 

 ' are not often leveL 



It has generally been considered that a gallon 



of -mWk (supposing little or no cream^iias been 



I taken from it 1 will produce upon an average of 



; the season one pound of saleable cheese : tha: 



i is, when the cheese is four or five months old. — 



In aattmm there is alvrays more curd from the 



. same quantity of milk than at any other pan of 



theseason. 



During wet weather there wiH sometimes be 

 I more milk than usual though not a proportion- 

 - ately greater quantity of ctird. An experienced 

 dairy -maid soon detects these different results. 

 and makes allowances accordingly. I have met 

 vvith no dairy-maid who regularly •weighs the 

 salt; but a highly-respectahle farmer, whose 

 wife makes a first-rate cheese, has given me the 

 weight used in his dairy, as near as the san^ 

 can be computed. It is as ibDows : — 



In March and ,ipnl their I'd. lb. oz. 



cheeses average about .30 and ab't 10 salt is used. 



Inilav, June sndJulT-.-TO -20 



jInAuiua: '....60 " 112 



I In September 50 "14 " 



j InOcto'oerandNovem'erSO " 010 



In the above instance it ■wDl be seen that 

 { more in proportion was used in stimmer than at 

 I other times, and that the average is 1 lb. of salt 

 1 for 40 lbs. of dried cheese lor say forty gaUone 

 I of milk). 



I I was favored with an account from another 

 I dairy in w^hich. to oblige me. the salt for <>«« was 

 I weighed. For a cheese which welshed 46 lbs. 



a few days after makins' (say 42 lbs. at ibtir 

 I months old) 1 lb. 1 oz. was used. This is also 

 j after the rate of 1 lb. of salt for 40 lbs. of dried 

 I cheese, and \vas said to be the quantity uniibna- 

 1 ly used throughout the year in this dairy, which 

 ! consisted of about forty cows. 

 I A third account is fhjm a %airy of sixteen 

 I co-ws : die quantity of salt used was generally 

 ] about 1 lb. for 4.5 lbs. of cheese : but the dairy- 

 I maid made a trial last year with one cheese. 

 i using only three-qtiarters of a pound. The 

 I cheese was made at the beginnins of Jtine. and 

 ' ^vhen weiched in the middle of September was 



42 lbs. This c'beese wtis admitted to be better 



than the others in the same dairy.* 



The salt termed the " middle grained " is the 

 ; kind senerally used: but some use -fine.'' Be- 

 ' lore applying n the curd is cut into three or fotir 

 ' equal-sized pieces, and each of these is broken 

 i into smaller pieces by hand, or is palsed once 

 . tarough the curd-miilt fig. 4j. The salt is then 



* It msy not be out of place here to stare ths: a: 

 i Northwich. which is about the cenvre of the cotinry. 

 ' and where the principal salt-works are found, salt is 

 : at present bought for Sd. per bushel of .56 lbs. In 

 I lajse quantities the price is conaderably lower. 



I t The cmrd-miH is of recent introduction, ard ii is 

 only in a few dairies that it is met with : some dsirv- 

 maids hie'nly approving, others ocjectins to it. I tfirn'r 

 it will soon be more seneraUy adopted.~as it effects a 

 eavius in time, and break? the turd more reeuiariy 



. than it can be dose by hacd. 



