28 Composition of Cheese. 



bottom of which steam may be let in, and the curd and whey 

 be raised by degrees to the desired temperature. This utensil is 

 to be strongly recommended to all who adopt the Cheddar mode 

 of cheesemaking in their dairies. 



Cheese is also spoiled by breaking up the curd too rapidly 

 and carelessly. This delicate substance requires to be handled 

 by nimble and experienced fingers, and to have a great amount 

 of patient labour bestQwed upon it. Dairymaids, as a class, 

 break up the curd in far too great a hurry. In consequence of 

 their careless treatment some portions of the curd are broken into 

 fragments so small that they pass into the whey when this is 

 drawn off, whilst others are not sufficiently broken up and re- 

 main soft. The result is, that the curd is not uniform in texture, 

 and that less cheese and of inferior quality is produced than when 

 the curd is first cut very gently into large slices and then broken 

 up by degrees either by hand or machinery into small fragments. 



The whey which separates from curd that has been gently 

 broken up is as bright as Rhenish wine, provided the milk has 

 been curdled at the proper temperature by a sufficient quantity 

 of good rennet. On the other hand, if the curd has been broken 

 up carelessly in too great a hurry, the whey is more or less 

 milky, and separates on standing a large quantity of fine curd of 

 the choicest character, for this fine curd is very rich in butter. 

 Thus the best part of the curd, instead of becoming incor- 

 porated with the cheese, finds its way into the whey leads. 

 Be the curd, however, broken up ever so gently, and the whey 

 drawn off ever so carefully, the latter always throws up, on 

 standing, some cream, which it is worth while to make into 

 butter. But the quantity of whey-butter made in good dairies is 

 very insignificant in comparison with that produced where less 

 attention is paid to the breaking of the curd. 1 know it to be a 

 fact, that in some dairies four times as much whey-butter is 

 made as in others. Where much whey-butter is made, the 

 cheese is seldom of first-rate quality. Believing that this is a 

 matter of some importance, 1 have visited many dairies, and 

 repeatedly watched dairymaids breaking the curd, and noticed 

 the gentle and patient manner in which a clever woman goes to 

 work, and the hurried and dashing proceedings of a slovenly girl. 

 On these occasions I have taken samples of the whey, and sub- 

 mitted them afterwards to analysis. The results, as recorded in 

 the following tables, show how much the whey of different 

 dairies varies in chemical composition as well as in physical 

 character : 



