20 Composition of Cheese. 



somewhat close condition. By heating the curd in the whey to 

 130 F., I find it gets so soft that it runs like toasted cheese, and 

 becomes quite hard on cooling. The limits of temperature be- 

 tween which curd can be improved or deteriorated in texture 

 are therefore not very wide. The exact temperature to be adopted 

 depends upon the description of cheese that is wanted a lower 

 range, e.g. 72 J to 75 J , being desirable when a thin cheese is 

 made ; whilst for tfyick cheese, such as Cheddar, it should vary 

 from 80 J to 84, 80 D being best adapted to warm weather, and 

 a little increase in the heat desirable in the cold season. After a 

 portion of the whey has been separated, it is advisable to scald 

 tlie curd and to raise the temperature of the whole contents of 

 the cheese-tub to 95 or 100, but certainly not higher. 1 have 

 seen much injury done to cheese by using too high a temperature 

 in the making.. 



Secondly, apart from this influence of temperature, cheeses are 

 often deteriorated by the frequently imperfect separation of the 

 whey from the curd ; by hurrying on too much the operation of 

 breaking ; and by too great an anxiety to get the curd vatted. 

 The whey requires time to drain off properly, and hence the 

 Somersetshire plan is a good one to expose the curd for some 

 time to the air, after it has been sufficiently broken and been 

 gathered again and cut in slices of moderate size. A great deal 

 of whey runs off, and the curd, moreover, is cooled, and runs less 

 risk of heating too much after it leaves the presses. 



When the whey has been ill-separated from the curd, no 

 amount of pressure will squeeze out the excess of whey, which 

 then causes the cheese to heave and blister, and imparts to it a 

 somewhat sweet and at the same time strong taste. This taste is 

 always found in an ill-shaped cheese, which bulges out at the 

 sides, the interior of which will be found to be full of cavities, 

 and far from uniform in texture. Many cheeses imported from 

 America are evidently spoiled in this way, for they are often 

 full of holes, have a strong smell, and contain too much moisture 

 sure indications that the whey was not properly separated. 

 The sweet taste is given to the cheese by part of the sugar of 

 milk, of which a good deal is found in whey ; another portion of 

 this, on entering into fermentation, forms, amongst other pro- 

 ducts, carbonic-acid gas, which, in its endeavour to escape, 

 heaves up the semi-solid curd, and causes it to blister, producing 

 the numerous apertures of considerable size which are found in 

 badly-made cheese If the cheese is coloured with annatto, the 

 excess oi whey at the same time causes a partial separation of the 

 colouring matter, so that more colour collects in some parts than 

 in others, and the cheese assumes that unequal condition in 



