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Composition of Cheese. 



things exists excellent cheese is made. When the whey first 

 separates from the curd it is always more or less turbid, but by 

 degrees it becomes clearer ; and if sufficient time is allowed, and 

 it is then tapped off without disturbing the curd, it runs off 

 almost as clear as water. By this means nearly the whole of 

 the butter may be retained in the cheese. In order to place this 

 beyond a doubt, I examined the whey which Mr. Keevil, the 

 inventor of the excellent cheesemaking apparatus which bears 

 his name, allowed me to take on the occasion of a visit which I 

 recently paid to his dairy-farm at Laycock, near Chippenham. 

 One sample of whey was taken at the stage in which it was 

 usually tapped off in Mr. Keevil's dairy ; the second when the 

 whey had become a little brighter, about ten minutes after the 

 first ; and the third about twenty minutes after the first. It then 

 was as clear as water. These three samples when analysed gave 

 the following results : 



Composition of Whey taken at 3 different periods. 



The two first samples are almost identical in composition ; they 

 both contain very little butter, but, small as that quantity is, it 

 can be further reduced to a mere trace by letting the whey stand 

 a little longer. In practice it may for other reasons not be 

 desirable to let the whey stand at rest quite so long as the third 

 sample stood ; and a dairymaid may congratulate herself when 

 she succeeds in breaking up the curd so carefully that the whey 

 contains as little butter as that made under Mr. Keevil's personal 

 direction and excellent management. 



It may perhaps be supposed that the successful manner in 

 which the butter is retained in the cheese in Mr. Keevil's dairy 

 is entirely due to the use of his patent apparatus, and that by its 

 introduction any dairymaid may be enabled to make good cheese. 

 But this supposition is not correct. Keevil's apparatus, useful 

 and good as it is in many respects, is no safeguard against 

 carelessness. Cheese is spoiled with, as well as without it. 



