320 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK n 



portion of the milk, heated to 95 F., and add a small quantity of the 

 water in which the stomach has been soaked ; by the quickness of the 

 curdling of the milk, and the form of the flakes produced, he will, after 

 a little experience, form a very accurate judgment of the strength of 

 the rennet, and of the quantity which he must pour into the milk. 



The methods of making cheeses in most general use in this country 

 are detailed below, but there are many slight variations in the practice 

 of different dairies even in the same district. 



Cheshire Cheese. The evening's milk is set apart until the following 

 morning, when the cream is skimmed off. The latter is poured into a 

 pan, which has been heated by being placed in the boiling water of a 

 boiler. The new milk obtained early in the morning is poured into 

 the vessel containing the previous evening's milk with the warmed 

 cream, and the temperature of the mixture is brought to about 75 F. 

 Into the vessel is introduced a piece of rennet, which has been 

 kept in warm water since the preceding evening, and in which a little 

 Spanish annatto (a quarter of an ounce is enough for a cheese of sixty 

 pounds) is dissolved. (Marigolds, boiled in milk, are occasionally 

 used for colouring cheese ; to which they likewise impart a pleasant 

 flavour. In winter, carrots scraped and boiled in milk, and afterwards 

 strained, will produce a richer colour ; but they should be used with 

 moderation, on account of their taste.) The whole is now stirred 

 together, and covered up warm for about an hour, or until it becomes 

 curdled ; it is then turned over with a bowl, and broken very small. 

 After standing a little time, the whey is drawn from it, and as soon as 

 the curd becomes somewhat more solid, it is cut into slices and turned 

 over repeatedly, the better to press out the whe} r . 



The curd is then removed from the tub, broken by hand or cut by 

 a curd-breaker into small pieces, and put into a cheese vat, where it is 

 strongty pressed both by hand and with weights, in order to extract the 

 remaining whey. After this it is transferred to another vat, or into the 

 same if it has in the meantime been well scalded, where a similar 

 process of breaking and expressing is repeated, until all the whey is 

 forced from it. The cheese is now turned into a third vat, previously 

 warmed, with a cloth beneath it, and a thin hoop, or binder, put round 

 the upper edge of the cheese, and within the sides of the vat, the 

 cheese itself being previously enclosed in a clean cloth, and its edges 

 placed within the vat, before transfer to the cheese-oven. These 

 various processes occupy about six hours, and eight more are requisite 

 for pressing the cheese, under a weight of 14 or 15 cwt. The cheese 

 during that time should be twice turned in the vat. There are several 

 holes bored in the vat which contains the cheese, and also in the cover 

 of it, through which long skewers pass in every direction, the pressure 

 being still continued. The object of this is to extract every drop of 

 whey. The pressure soon obliterates all these punctures, and the 

 cheese is at length taken from the vat as a firm and solid mass. 



On the following morning and evening it must be again turned and 

 pressed ; and also on the third day, about the middle of which it should 

 be removed to the salting chamber, where the outside is well rubbed 



