226 COAGULATION AND BREAKING THE CURD. 



arnatto of the size of a hazel-nut in a pint of warm 

 milk, the night before the cheese is made, and infuse 

 it in the milk immediately on the rennet being put in. 

 COAGULATION, or curding, will take place in from 

 one to two hours, the milk having been set in its 

 proper state ; otherwise, as has been said, the curd 

 may not come under more than double the time. 

 Should the milk be in a heated and unfavourable 

 state, the immediate addition of cold fresh spring 

 water is the usual remedy. The quantity of water 

 added must be regulated by experience, and the use 

 of a thermometer. The milk must remain covered. 

 So soon as the curd shall have been fully formed, 

 the first operation is to cut it in all directions with 

 the many-bladed knives, that the whey may rise 

 through the incisions and the curd sink. This cut- 

 ting must be repeated, until the curd shall be re- 

 duced to the smallest and most even particles. The 

 cheese tub is then again covered, and must remain 

 until the curd has sunk to the bottom, when the 

 whey is laded off. In a short time the curd will 

 settle and become solid, and may then be broken 

 into the vat, where it again goes through the opera- 

 tion of cutting, and pressure is applied until it be 

 perfectly drained of the whey. The utmost atten- 

 tion is required in this stage of the business, to lade 

 off all particles of slip- curd, namely, such unsub- 

 stantial parts as have been loosened from the solid 

 mass, and will be seen floating on the surface of the 

 whey; such, if not removed, will dissolve in the 

 cheese, and occasion whey-springs, which greatly 

 reduce its worth, producing early unsoundness. 



