THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



of about three inches diameter, and is laid to soak twenty-four 

 hours in a dish containing about a quart of clear whey, which 

 has been boiled, and all the curd taken out. The next day 

 the veil is well squeezed, and put into fresh whey ; the first 

 infusion being put into a proper vessel, the second is after- 

 wards mixed with it, and bottled for use. Half a pint of this 

 liquor, of a proper strength, is sufficient to curdle 40 gallons 

 of milk. Experience alone enables the dairyman to judge of 

 the strength of his rennet ; for this purpose he takes in a flat 

 ladle some milk which has been heated to about 95 degrees of 

 Fahrenheit, and adds a small measure of rennet. By the 

 rapidity with which it curdles, and by the form of the flakes 

 produced, he knows its exact strength, and puts more or less 

 into the caldron in which the milk is heated for curdling. 



There are different kinds of cheese, according to the mode 

 of preparing it : soft and rich cheeses are not intended to be 

 kept long ; hard and dry cheeses are adapted to be kept and 

 stored for provisions. Of the first kind are all cream cheeses, 

 and those soft cheeses, called Bath cheeses and Yorkshire 

 cheeses, which are sold as soon as made, and if kept too long 

 become soft and putrid. Stilton and Gruyere cheeses are in- 

 termediate ; Parmesan, Dutch, Cheshire, Gloucestershire, and 

 similar cheeses, are intended for longer keeping. The poorer 

 the cheese is, the longer it will keep ; and all cheese that is 

 well cleared from whey, and sufficiently salted, will keep for 

 years. The small Dutch cheeses, called Edam cheeses, are 

 admirably adapted for keeping, and form an important article 

 in the victualling of ships. 



The Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses only differ in the nature 

 of the milk, and in the degree of heat given to the curd in 

 different parts of the process. Gruyere cheese is entirely 

 made from new milk, and Parmesan from skimmed milk. In 

 the first nothing is added to give flavour : in the latter saffron 

 gives both colour and flavour ; the process in both is exactly 

 similar. A large caldron, in the shape of a bell, capable of 

 holding from 60 to 120 gallons of milk, hangs from an iron 

 crane over a hearth where a wood fire is made. The milk, 

 having been strained, is put into this caldron, and heated to 

 nearly blood-heat (95 to 100). It is then turned off the fire, 

 and some rennet, prepared as stated above, is intimately mixed 

 with the warm milk by stirring it with the hand, in which is 

 held a flat wooden skimming-dish, which is turned round in 

 the milk while the hand and arm stir it. A cloth is then laid 



