250 ANNATTO FOR COLORING. 



Six lemons, two ounces of cloves, two ounces of cinna- 

 mon, and two ounces of common sage, are sometimes 

 added to the liquor, to preserve its flavor and quicken 

 its action. If kept cool in a stone jar, it will keep 

 sweet any length of time desired, and a uniform strength 

 is secured while it lasts. Stir it before dipping off. To 

 set milk, take of it enough to curdle milk firm in forty 

 minutes ; squeeze or rub through a rag annatto enough 

 to make the curd a cream color, and stir it in with the 

 rennet." It will be seen that he adopts the practice of 

 removing the contents of the stomach. This, it appears 

 to me, is the best calculated to promote cleanliness and 

 purity, so important in making a good-flavored cheese. 



But in Cheshire, so celebrated for its superior cheese, 

 the contents of the stomach are frequently salted by 

 themselves, and after being a short time exposed to the 

 air are fit for use ; while the well-known and highly- 

 esteemed Limburg cheese is mostly made with rennet 

 prepared as in Ayrshire, the curd being left in the 

 stomach, and both dried together. The general opinion 

 is that rennet, as usually prepared, is not fit to use till 

 nearly a year old. 



Perhaps the plan of making a liquid rennet from new 

 and fresh stomachs, and keeping it in bottles corked 

 tight till wanted for use, would tend still further to 

 secure this end. 



The use of annatto to color the cheese artificially is 

 somewhat common in this country, though probably not 

 so much so as in many other countries. Annatto, or 

 annotto, is made from the red pulp of the seeds of an 

 evergreen tree of the same name, found in the West 

 Indies and in Brazil, by bruising and obtaining a precip- 

 itate. A variety is made in Cayenne, which comes into 

 the market in cakes of two or three pounds. It is bright 

 yellow, rather soft to the touch, but of considerable 



