118 



GENESEE FARMER 



May. 



From the Michigan I-'armer. 



Cheese. 



It is difficult to give intelligible written direc- 

 tions on this subject, as success depends so much 

 on experience that it requires practical teaching; 

 but when this is not to be had, we must make up 

 by care and observation in practice, what is ne- 

 cessarily deficient in theory. To make the cheese 

 of a small dairy — say eight or ten cows, which 

 would produce seven pails of milk per day, 

 which it properly managed would make twenty 

 lbs. of cheese, I give the following rules ; one 

 point being constantly observed — that is temper- 

 ature : as too much heat not only atfects the 

 quality, making it hard and poor, but diminishes 

 the quantity. The milk when set for curd, 

 should be at 90 degrees, or about two degrees 

 below milk heat. The rennet is then added, 

 two or three spoonsful to seven pails of milk. — 

 The exact quantity can only be ascertained by 

 trying its strength. If the proper measure has 

 been used the curd A'ill be fit to break up in one 

 hour from the time it was set ; which may be 

 done with a long handled skimmer or curd break- 

 er. This must be done very gently to avoid 

 bruising the curd, and losing the cream. It is 

 then left one half hour to settle, a pail-full of the 

 whey is then made milk warm, and returned to 

 the curd gradually, all the time breaking it up. 

 Another pail-full of whey is now made two de- 

 grees above milk heat, and most of the whey re- 

 maining on the curd, let into another vessel, left 

 cold. The warm whey is then returned to the 

 curd, breaking it uj) as fine as peas. It should 

 be now one degree above milk heat : if it is not, 

 heat more whey and put on. It is then left fif- 

 teen minutes, the strainer is then spread in the 

 cheese-basket, the whole mass put into it, break- 

 ing it up as the whey drains out. A pail of 

 cold whey is then put on to cool it. After being 

 sufficiently drained, it is returned to the cheese- 

 tub and salted, one gill of salt to 16 lbs., then 

 put into the hoop and pressed with about half of 

 the proper weight put on, till near night, it is 

 then turned, the whole weight put on, and pressed 

 until next day, when done. 



If you wish to make a double curded cheese, 

 make the second curd in the same way as the 

 first. When it is ready to go to the press, take 

 the first curd, (now a cheese,) out of the press, 

 but not out of the hooj), cut and scratch over the 

 upper surface, making it rough, that the second 

 curd may adhere firmly to it. It is then put in- 

 to the hoop, with the other, pressed until near 

 night, when it is turned into another strainer, 

 and pressed till the next cheese is ready for the 

 press, when it is taken out and rubbed with lard, 

 a bandage sewed on it and turned, and rubbed 

 every day. 



Another way of making a douldc curded cheese 

 is, to make the first curd without warm whey, 

 merely cutting it up in the basket and letting 



the whey drain out, kept till next day, when it 

 is cut into small pieces, warm whey put on it 

 until it is a little more than milk warm, then 

 drained and chopped ; the second curd made ac- 

 cording to the first rule, is mixed with it, salted, 

 and put to press. 



A Dairy-woman of Herkimer. Co. 

 Fairfield, N. Y., Feb., 1846. 



Bread Haking. 



The Rising. — Boil a quanti*^' of hops, strain 

 them, stir flour into the liquor when boiling hot; 

 let it cool sufficiently, put in a small quantity of 

 brewer's yeast ; let it stand until perfectly light, 

 then knead it hard with meal, cut it into thin 

 cakes, and dry it in the sun. 



For making Bread. — Soak a small quantity 

 of the cake in warm water an hour or two, put it 

 to sponging in your flour till it rises ; knead it 

 and let it stand till it rises again ; knead it again, 

 and put it in parts for the oven ; let it stand un- 

 til it rises, then bake the usual time. 



To MAKE Milk Yeast. — Take half a pint of 

 new milk, one pint of hot water, half a teaspoon- 

 ful of salt, half a teaspoon ful of saleratus, stir in 

 flour to the thickness of common batter ; keep 

 warm five or six hours. 



To MAKE Bread. — When light, take two 

 quarts of warm milk, one teaspoonful of salera- 

 tus, stir in flour and yeast to the thickness of 

 common batter ; keep warm ; when light, make 

 small loaves, bake thirty minutes. 



To MAKE Crackers. — Take 5 ounces butter, 

 4 eggs, 1 pint milk, beat the eggs and stir in as 

 much as you can ; then beat with a flat iron ten 

 minutes without adding flour ; then break off" a 

 l)iece large enough for a cracker ; knead and 

 roll out thin, and bake in a hot oven. — Selected. 



To make the best Copal Varnish. — Take 

 one pound of gum copal, and melt it in a flask 

 over a brisk fire of charcoal ; at the same time, 

 in another flask, boil or heat to the point of boil- 

 ing, one pint of linseed oil ; as soon as the gum 

 is melted, take it from the fire, and add the hot 

 oil in small quantities, at the same time stirring 

 or shaking it till they are thoroughly incorpora- 

 ted. Allow the mixture to cool below the boil- 

 ing point of water, and then add nearly a quart 

 of spirits of turpentine: cork the flask slightly, 

 and expose it a few days to the rays of the sun, 

 which will make it work more smooth and shining. 

 If a larger quantity is to be made, a copper boil- 

 er, that is small at the top will answer to melt the 

 gum in. For ordinary or coarse work, a larger 

 proportion of oil and a little rosin may be added. 



If oil is used, in which red lead and litharge 

 (in the proportion of half a pound of each to a 

 gallon of oil) have been previously boiled, the 

 varnish will the sooner dry. — Scientific Amer. 



"Tlic life of famo is action understood, 

 Tliat action virtuous, great and good." 



