1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



13 



ready for the table than the olhers; and that the 

 latter is put together rather hotter than the two 

 former. 



Much of what passes under the names of Dou- 

 ble Gloucester, and of Cheddar Cheese, is made in 

 Somersetshire, by the following simple process: — 

 When the milk is brought home, it is immedi- 

 ately strained into a tub, and the rennet is added, 

 in the proportion of ahout three table-spoonsful to 

 a quantity sufficient for a cheese of twenty-eight 

 pounds; after which it remains undisturbed for 

 about two hours, when it becomes curd, and is bro- 

 ken. That done, three parts of the whey are warm- 

 ed, and afterwards put into the tub lor about twenty 

 minutes: the whole whey is then again put over 

 the fire, made nearly scalding hot, and returned 

 into the tub, to scald the curd, for about half an 

 hour, after which part of the whey is again taken 

 out, and the remainder left with the curd until it is 

 nearly cold. The whey is then poured off, the 

 curd broken very small, put into the vat and press- 

 ed, remains there nearly an hour, and is then taken 

 out, turned, and put under the press again till even- 

 ing; when it Is turned, and put in again until the 

 next morning. It is then taken out of the vat, 

 salted, put into it again with a clean dry cloth 

 round it, and remains in the press till the following 

 evening, when it is again taken out, salted, put 

 into the vat without a cloth, and pressed till the 

 next morning: it then finally leaves the press, and 

 is salted once a day for twelve days.* 



Stilton Cheese has only been introduced since 

 about the middle of the last century. It was first 

 made by a Mr. Paulet, who resided in the Melton 

 quarter of Leicestershire, but who, being a relation 

 of the landlord of the Bell Inn, at Stilton, on the 

 great North road, supplied his house with cheese 

 of such a singularly superior quality, that it became 

 in demand beyond the consumption of the house, 

 and was then sold so high as halt-a-crown a 

 pound. f It thus acquired the name of Stilton 

 Cheese; but the mode of making it having been 

 soon discovered, it is now generally made through- 

 out all the neighboring counties; the sale is no 

 longer confined to Stilton, and much of what comes 

 to market under that denomination is of very infe- 

 rior quality. Its richness depends, of course, both 

 on the breed of cows employed, and the quality of 

 the pasture on which they are fed, as well as upon 

 the quantity of cream used in the making up; for, 

 unless a large portion of this be added to the milk, 

 the cheese will be deficient in all the essential 

 qualities for which it is remarkable. 



It is commonly made by putting the night's 

 cream to the milk of the following morning with 

 the rennet; and as soon as the cujd is come, it is 

 taken out whole and put into a sieve, gradually to 

 drain. While it is thus draining, it is pressed till 

 it become dry and firm, and is then removed info 

 a wooden box or hoop, adapted to its size; this 

 sort of cheese being so very rich, that it would sep- 

 arate or fall to pieces were not this precaution 

 adopted. Afterwards it is turned every day on 

 dry boards, cloth binders being tied round it, and 

 which are made tighter as occasion may require. 



* Communication in the Agricultural Survey of the 

 County of Somerset. 3d Edit. p. 247. 



t Marshall's Midland Counties. 2d Edit. Vol I. p. 

 320. l 



After it is removed from the box or hoop, the cheese 

 is closely bound with cloths, which are changed 

 daily, till it become sufficiently compact to support 

 itself; when these cloths are laken away, each 

 cheese is rubbed over every day once (and if the 

 weather be moist or damp, twice,) for two or three 

 months, with a brush, which is also done every 

 day to the tops and bottoms of the cheeses before 

 the cloths are removed. Sometimes it is made in 

 a net like a cabbage-net, which gives it the form 

 of an acorn. Stilton cheeses are not sufficiently 

 mellowed for use, until they are two years old; and 

 will not sell unless they are decayed, blue, and 

 moist. In order to accelerate their maturity, it is 

 no uncommon trick to place them in buckets, and 

 cover these over with horse-dung. Wine is also 

 said to be added to the curd, in order to produce 

 a rapid advance, of ripeness. 



In making Wiltshire cheese (which is admitted 

 to be among the best English sorts) the milk 

 is "run" as it is brought from the cow; or if it be 

 of two warm a temperature, it is lowered by the 

 addition of a little skimmed milk. The curd is, 

 in the first, place, broken with the hand to various 

 degrees of fineness, according to the sort of cheese 

 intended to be made. Thus, for thin cheese, it is 

 not reduced so fine as in the county of Gloucester; 

 for the thick kind, it is broken still finer; and tor 

 loaves it is almost crushed to atoms. But, in first 

 breaking the curd, care is taken to let the whey 

 run off gradually, lest it should carry away with it 

 the "fat of the cowl." As the whey rises it is 

 poured off, and the curd pressed down; after this it 

 is pared, or cut down, three or lour times, in slices, 

 about one inch thick, that all the whey may be 

 extracted, and is then scalded in the same manner 

 as Gloucester cheese. In some dairies it is the 

 practice, after the whey is separated, to re-brake 

 the curd, and salt it in the "cowl;" but in others, 

 it is taken, while warm, out of the liquor, and salt- 

 ed in the vat. The thin sorts are disposed, with a 

 small handful of salt, in one layer; thick cheeses, 

 with two handstid of salt, in two layers; and loaves, 

 with the same quantity, in three or four layers; the 

 salt being spread, and uniformly rubbed among 

 the curd. In general, Wiltshire cheese is twice 

 salted in the press beneath which it continues, ac- 

 cording to its thickness: the thin sorts three or lour 

 "meals;" thicker ones four or five, and loaves five 

 or six. 



Dunlop cheese is made in the counties of Ayre, 

 Renfrew, Lanark and Galloway, of various sizes, 

 from twenty to sixty pounds. After the milk is 

 brought to a certain degree of heat, (about 100 

 degrees of the thermometer upon an average, 

 though in summer ninety will be sufficient, as, on 

 the contrary, during winter, a higher degree will 

 be requisite,) it is mixed with the cream which had 

 been previously skimmed, and kept cool; the whole 

 is then poured into a large vessel, where the ren- 

 net is added to it, and which is closely covered up 

 for a short time, perhaps ten or twelve minutes. 

 If the rennet 'be good, it will have etlected a coag- 

 ulation of the milk, which is gently stirred, when 

 the whey begins immediately to separate, and is 

 taken off as it gathers, until the curd become tol- 

 erably solid. It is then put into a drainer, (a ves- 

 sel made for the purpose, the bottom of which is 

 perforated with small holes,) and the cover of 

 which is pressed down with any convenient weight. 

 After it has thus stood for some time, and is pretty 



