248 RENNET IN THE SCOTCH DAIRIES. 



serve it by salting it, and then, by steeping it, or por- 

 tions of it, in warm water, they prepare what they call 

 a rennet. After the maw has been salted a certain time, 

 it may be taken out and dried, and then it will retain 

 the same property for an indefinite period. A small 

 piece of the maw thus dried is steeped over night in a 

 few teaspoonfuls of warm water, and this water will 

 turn the milk of three or four cows." 



It is important that rennet enough should be pre- 

 pared at once for the whole season, in order to secure 

 as great a uniformity in strength as possible. The 

 object should be to produce a prompt, complete, and 

 firm or compact coagulation of all the cheesy matter. 



Mr. Aiton, in his admirable treatise on the Dairy Hus- 

 bandry of Scotland, gives the simple method of prepar- 

 ing the rennet in the dairy districts, as follows : " When 

 the stomach or bag — usually termed the yirning — is 

 taken from the calf's body, its contents are examined, 

 and if any straw or other food is found among the 

 curdled milk, such impurity is carefully removed ; but 

 all the curdled milk found in the bag is carefully pre- 

 served, and no part of the chyle is washed out. A 

 considerable quantity of salt — at least two handfuls — 

 is put into and outside the bag, which is then rolled up 

 and hung near a fire to dry. It is always allowed to 

 hang until it is well dried, and is understood to be 

 improved by hanging a year or longer before being 

 infused. 



11 When rennet is wanted, the yirning with its contents 

 is cut small, and put into a jar with a handful or two of 

 salt; and a quantity of soft water that has been boiled 

 and cooled to sixty-five degrees, or of new whey taken 

 off the curd, is poured into it. The quantity of water 

 or whey necessary is more or less, according to the 

 quality of the yirning: if it is that of a new-dropped 



