110 CHEESE AND CHEESE-MAKING 



to two hours from the time of cutting the 

 curd. 



DRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACIDITY. 

 After drawing off the whey, take the curd 

 out of the vat, and place it in a straining-cloth. 

 Put it on a draining-rack, open it out after 

 the first half-hour, and cut it into pieces ; 

 continue to do this every hour until the curd 

 is ready to grind. A board is also placed 

 on the curd whilst on the draining-rack, and 

 7 to 28 Ibs. weight is placed upon the board. 

 The amount r of pressure is regulated according 

 to the weather, and the drainage of the whey. 

 When the weather is cold, and the drainage is 

 slow, apply more pressure to the curd, and vice 

 versa. The curd when ready to grind should 

 be decidedly sour, fairly dry and flaky, but not 

 hard. It should be weighed before grinding. 



SALTING. The ground curd is salted at the 

 rate of i oz. of salt to 4 Ibs. of curd. The curd 

 preparatory to salting is either ground in a 

 mill or broken by hand, but in either case 

 it must not be made too fine. The effect 

 of fine grinding is a tight cheese in which no 

 mould will develop. The time elapsing between 



