THE PRINCIPLES OF CHEESE-MAKING 7 



been allowed to stand for a number of hours, 

 acidity will have commenced to develop, which 

 hastens coagulation, and will in time actually 

 produce it. 



The reason why curd which has been cut fine 

 in the manufacture of large pressed cheese is 

 left in the whey and heated, is that unless this 

 were done it would not be sufficiently acid, for 

 the curd when drawn from the whey is tough 

 and dry as compared with the curd used in 

 the manufacture of soft cheese. Unless this 

 process were carried out the whey would not 

 be expelled, and the cheese would not acquire 

 its mellowness of texture or its fine nutty 

 flavour. In soft cheese-making the curd is placed 

 in small moulds ; small cheeses are, indeed, 

 essential, otherwise the whey would be unable 

 to find its way to the surface ; but unless the 

 temperature is sufficiently high, it even then 

 refuses to move, and for this reason soft cheese- 

 making is conducted at specific temperatures 

 which are applied to each variety of cheese. 

 Theoretically, the time of coagulation is in 

 inverse ratio to the quantity of rennet em- 

 ployed, but in practice this axiom is not entirely 



