CHEESE 



105 



vat, although cheese may be made in a plain wooden 

 tub or any other convenient vessel. The double bot- 

 tomed vat generally used in American as well as in 

 Danish dairies facili- 

 tates both the heating 

 of the milk before set- 

 ting and the '^cook- 

 ing'' of the curd in 

 the whey after cutting. 

 Either low pressure 

 steam, or — better — 

 water heated by steam, 



is introduced in the Plain wooden vat and curd miU 



space between the outer, wooden bottom and the inner, 

 tinned steel or copper bottom. If it is cool the milk 

 should be warmed to 86^ F. In the summer it may be 

 warm enough as it comes in, fresh from the cow. If 

 not, heat it by steam or by setting it in a ''shot-gun" 

 b 



Danish kettle and cheese vat 



can in another vessel of hot water, stirring frequently, 

 until the thermometer shows 86°. It may be well to 

 add a little buttermilk or sour whey from the preceding 



