DEFECTS IN BODY AND TEXTURE 123 



(5) As soon as possible after heating, the whey should be 

 . run down to the level of the curd. This greatly 



facilitates stirring and firming the curd, and, if more 

 than one vat is being used, time is saved when tjie 

 remainder of the whey is to be removed. If by thi- 

 time the curd is not firm and shows too much acidity, 

 a sour cheese can be prevented by, 



(6) Removing the whey and putting on water at a temper- 



ature of 102 F. The amount of water used and the 

 time it is left on will depend on the amount of 

 acidity in the curd. In extreme cases, it may be 

 necessary to give a second treatment with water. 

 As soon as the curd becomes firmed in the water 

 and the acidity is reduced to a normal amount, the 

 water should be removed. The curd should then 

 be treated like a normal curd. This method is not to 

 be confounded with the "soaked-curd" process, 

 which is entirely different. 



(7) If, after milling, the curd is sour, it can be improved 



by washing in pure water at 80 F. This resembles 

 the "soaked-curd" process, and, as a rule, such 

 cheese does not keep well. However, it is much 

 better to do this than to allow the cheese to sour, 

 and the process should be used in extreme cases, 



(8) Use an extra amount of salt after washing. 



LOOSE OR OPEN TEXTURE 



Cheese with this texture is full of holes. Such 

 cheese is generally soft in body. Such defects are 

 more serious when found in export cheese, since a 

 "close-boring" cheese is demanded for this trade. 

 Cause : 



(1) Developing too little acid and retaining too much 



whey. 



(2) Putting curd to press at too high a. temperature. 



(3) Lack of pressing. 



(4) Soaking curd in water after milling. 

 Prevention : 



(1) Have at least 0.24 per cent of acidity in whey run- 



ning from curd after it is piled for cheddaring. 



(2) The curd should be cooled to 80 F., at least, before 



pressing. This can be hastened by running cold 

 water around the outside of the vat lining. 



