GORGONZOLA, AND MOULDED CHEESE 49 



are broken into fine pieces with the fingers as 

 gently as possible, and, after weighing, mixed 

 with a fair proportion of salt. It is salted curd, 

 therefore, of which the cheese is made, and in this 

 particular, as well as in others, it differs from the 

 Gorgonzola process. Both top and bottom of the 

 cheese are carefully finished off so that the edges 

 are cut clean and the surface level. In the 

 course of three or four days, should the tempera- 

 ture be maintained at from 60 to 63 F., the 

 cheese will be firm, and will have left the sides 

 of the mould, which may be lifted from it, 

 allowing it to stand alone. It is now bound 

 with a calico binder somewhat tightly, and 

 pinned top and bottom. This bandage is 

 removed and a clean one put on every day 

 until the somewhat wrinkled coat of the cheese 

 has partially formed. It is then taken to the 

 drying-room and subsequently to the ripening- 

 room. 



All cheeses of this character lose con- 

 siderably in weight, in spite of the fact that 

 they are not pressed, and yet they maintain a 

 mellower, softer, creamier texture than cheeses 

 which have been pressed. It is possible to 



