''Home -Trade,'' or ''Stirred- Curd.'' 201 



or export are in the main similar. In fact, the two 

 processes merge into one another in such a way that 

 we find a regular gradation in the cheese from the 

 softest, mildest, short -keeping stirred -curd cheese on 

 the one hand to the most solid, long-keeping ched- 

 dar on the other. The distinctive differences in the 

 two processes of manufacture are that in the home- 

 trade cheese, after the whey is drawn from the curd, 

 the curd is not allowed to mat into a mass or Ched- 

 dar, but is kept stirred in such a way that the whey 

 will drain off until it is dry enough so that the par- 

 ticles of curd will not unite. It is then salted and, 

 with more or less further maturing of the curd, is 

 pressed and cured. The character of the resulting 

 cheese, however, depends quite as much upon the 

 amount and character of the changes that go on in 

 the curd after the whey is drawn, and before it is 

 put into press, as upon the mere fact of allowing it 

 to pack in a mass (cheddar) or keeping it apart by 

 stirring. If the cheddar variety is ground shortly after 

 matting:, and immediately salted and put to press, 

 the resulting cheese will resemble the stirred -curd 

 type. On the other hand, if the stirred -curd is kept 

 warm and frequently stirred, many of the same 

 changes will go on as in the cheddared curd, and 

 the cheese when cured will resemble the cheddar 

 type. 



Another distinction between the two processes is 

 that in the case of the cheddar cheese the aim is to 

 get rid of all the water consistent with a compact 

 union of the particles of casein. In the manufac- 



