258 ARTIFICIAL COLOURING. 



necessity, and to prevent disappointment, it is best 

 to have recourse at once to the muriatic acid, using 

 it with great caution, and in the smallest efficient 

 quantity. 



ARTIFICIAL COLOURING. The native colour of 

 cheese, skilfully made from rich new milk, will 

 incline to a bright yellow, which, being the favourite 

 colour, inclines the makers to heighten it artificially, 

 a practice which also serves to impart to lean and 

 ordinary cheese an appearance of richness. For 

 this purpose, turmeric and marigold leaves were 

 formerly used, but the Spanish annotto has long 

 been the universal cheese-colouring. There are 

 various ways of using it, but the most expeditious 

 and equally effective mode is to dissolve a lump of 

 annotto, of the size of a hazel-nut, in a pint of warm 

 milk, the night before the cheese is made, and in- 

 fuse it in the milk immediately on the rennet being 

 put in. 



COAGULATION, or curdling, will take place in from 

 one to two hours, the milk having been set in its 

 proper state; otherwise, as has been said, the curd 

 may not come under more than double the time. 

 Should the milk be in a heated and unfavourable 

 state, the immediate addition of cold fresh spring 

 water is the usual remedy. The quantity of water 

 added must be regulated by experience, and the use 

 of a thermometer. The milk must remain covered. 

 So soon as the curd shall have been fully formed, 

 the first operation is to cut it in all directions with 

 the many-bladed knives, that the whey may rise 

 through the incisions and the curd sink. This 



