Composition of Cheese. 27 



which it is called tallowy. A uniform colour and perfect shape 

 are therefore to a certain extent indications of a superior quality ; 

 whilst mottled, mis-shaped cheese, almost invariably proves 

 tallowy, and in flavour sweet when young, and very strong when 

 older. The danger of leaving too much whey in the curd is 

 especially great in warm weather, for it is then that the ferment- 

 ation of the sugar of milk proceeds most rapidly. 



There are three precautions to be taken against an undue pro- 

 portion of whey in the curd : 



1. Plenty of time should be allowed for the whey to drain off 

 properly. 



2. Before the rennet is added, the milk should be heated to a 

 temperature of 72 to 75 for thin, or of 80 to 84 for thick 

 cheese. 



3. The best preventive is the practice of slip-scalding, as 

 it is called. The operation, which is highly recommended by 

 Mr. Harding, one of our best Cheddar cheese-makers, and exten- 

 sively practised in Somersetshire, consists of heating a portion of 

 the whey, and adding it or hot water to the curd, whilst it is 

 still covered with some of the whey, until the temperature 

 of the whole be raised to from 95 to 100. This has the effect 

 of making the curd run together into a much smaller compass, 

 and enables the dairymaid to draw off the whey more perfectly 

 and with very much less trouble than by the common method. If 

 well done, no injury, but every advantage, results from this prac- 

 tice. The curd, when slip-scalded, settles down very readily, 

 and its closer condition implies that it does not contain so much 

 whey as' it did before scalding. Hence no skewers are required 

 to drain off the whey from cheese that has been slip-scalded, and 

 a great deal of subsequent labour and anxiety is avoided by this 

 simple process. Slip-scalding, however, ought to be carefully 

 performed, and the hot whey or water be poured slowly upon the 

 curd by one person, whilst another stirs up the contents of the 

 cheese-tub, so as to ensure a uniform temperature throughout. 

 The necessity for these precautions will be best understood from 

 the following explanation : When curd, broken up and cut into 

 slices, is suddenly and incautiously scalded with boiling water, 

 the outer layer of the slices first melts and then becomes hard, 

 enveloping the interior, which remains quite soft and full of 

 whey. This hard covering acts like a waterproof wrapper, and 

 prevents the escape of the whey, however strongly the curd may 

 be pressed afterwards ; hence the importance of a gradual and 

 careful admixture of the hot whey. Better still is it to employ 

 OIK; of Coquet's jacketed tin or brass cheese-tubs, into the hollow 



