310 THE DAIRY. 



To enumerate all the different varieties or sorts of cheese, 

 and other preparations made from milk, would form quite a 

 catalogue; it is an article in universal esteem; but there are 

 different kinds in almost every district, according to the mode 

 of its preparation. Having already occupied a large space of 

 the work with remarks relative to the process of cheese making, 

 we have only room to refer briefly to a few of the foreign 

 cheeses of superior excellence. 



The Cheshire cheese is in the highest repute, and eagerly 

 sought after. The making of this cheese is carried to the 

 greatest perfection it is made from the whole of the milk and 

 cream, the morning's milk being mixed with that of the pre- 

 ceding evening, previously warmed. The greatest pains are 

 taken to extract every particle of whey. 



The Stilton cheese, proverbial for its richness and flavour, 

 is made by putting the night's cream, without any portion of 

 the milk, to the milk of the following morning, with the ren- 

 net; but those who wish to make it very fine, add a still greater 

 quantity of cream, and of course the richness of the cheese de- 

 pends upon the amount which is used. When the curd is come 

 it is not broken, as is usual with other cheese, but is taken out 

 whole and put into a sieve to drain gradually, when it is press- 

 ed with weights until entirely freed from the whey; when it 

 becomes dry by the process of pressing, it is put, with a clean 

 cloth, into a vat or box made to fit it, the outer coat being first 

 well salted. When it has acquired firmness enough to be re- 

 moved from this mould, it is to be placed on a dry board, 

 tightly bound about by a fine cloth, which is to be changed 

 daily, to prevent cracks; but when this danger ceases, the use 

 of the cloth is dispensed with, and the cheese requires no 

 further attention or care than daily turning upside down and 

 brushed for two or three months. Sometimes they are made 

 in a net, which gives them the form of an acorn; but this mode 

 is not preferred. It generally remains two years before being 

 brought to market. 



Of the Parmesan cheese almost every person has some 

 knowledge; it is made in various parts of Lombardy, and par- 

 ticularly in the Dutchy of Parma; it is prepared much in the 

 same manner as the Cheshire, and the best American cheeses. 

 It is, however, made of skim-milk, the curd hardened by heat, 

 by being placed in a suitable vessel over a moderate fire, well 

 salted, thoroughly pressed, dried, long kept, and rich in flavour 

 from the rich herbage of the meadows of the Po, along the 

 borders of which the cows are pastured. 



Soft and rich cheeses are not intended to be kept long hard 

 and dry cheeses are adapted to be kept and stored for years. 



