CHESHIRE CHEESE-MAKING 103 



therefore apply much pressure ; a quick-ripening 

 curd on hooping should be coarse-grained, and 

 saturated with acid whey ; a slow-ripening curd 

 on hooping should be fine-grained, dry, and 

 contain very little free whey. 



Throughout the Cheshire systems the en- 

 deavour is to develop more or less of acidity 

 after the curd is hooped, and hence the use of 

 the oven. 



The alreadydescribed medium ripening process 

 produces a good Cheshire cheese of such quality 

 that when ripe it will keep a few months, should 

 the markets necessitate such a plan. This 

 clearly indicates one of the advantages of adopt- 

 ing this process (and this remark is also appli- 

 cable to the late process), for should the early 

 ripening one be adopted, the produce must be 

 sold as soon as ripe, or else be wasted, as it has 

 no keeping properties. On the other hand, the 

 quick-ripening process produces a greater weight 

 of cheese than the other two processes, and it 

 also gives quicker returns, but the quality of the 

 cheese produced by it is not first-class, and the 

 risks as above indicated are great. 



