ARTIFICIAL COLOURING. 



ing morning the liquor is strained off, and poured 

 into the milk. One inch is generally held sufficient 

 to curdle the milk of five cows. Some persons put 

 rose-leaves, sweet-briar, cloves, and various aroma- 

 tics into the rennet, for the purpose of imparting a 

 fine flavour to the cheese. The rennet bag, again 

 salted and dried, during a week or two, near the 

 fire, may be of further use. Any acid will coagulate 

 milk, and in the Dutch dairies, the muriatic acid, 

 or spirit of salt is used, but it imparts to the cheese 

 a sharp and disagreeable saline flavour, which, how- 

 ever, is said to have the advantage of being destruc- 

 tive to mites. Various substitutes are in print for 

 the rennet of the calf's maw, such as a decoction 

 of the flowers of yellow-ladies'-bed-straw, or of 

 spear-grass, the lesser spear-wort; but I much 

 doubt the efficacy of such simples, and in case of 

 necessity, and to prevent disappointment, it is best 

 to have recourse at once to the muriatic acid, using 

 it with great caution, and in the smallest efficient 

 quantity. 



ARTIFICIAL COLOURING. The native colour of 

 cheese, skilfully made from rich new milk, will 

 incline to a bright yellow, which, being the favourite 

 colour, inclines the makers to heighten it artificially, 

 a practice which also serves to impart to lean and 

 ordinary cheese, an appearance of richness. For 

 this purpose, turmeric and marygold leaves were 

 formerly used, but the Spanish arnatto has long 

 been the universal cheese-colouring. There are 

 various ways of using it, but the most expeditious 

 and equally effective mode is to dissolve a lump of 



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