THE PREPARATION OF EDAM CHEESE IN HOLLAND. 253 



perforated boards which are weighted with 15 kilos. When it is observed 

 that no more of the whey is driven out in this way, it is removed, and the 

 board is weighted with 30 kilos. The mass of curd after a short time is 

 broken up, either with the hand or with the curd-mill, and then submitted 

 for some time to a pressure of from 50 to 60 kilos., 2*5 to 3 per cent of 

 salt being then worked into it. The curd-mass is finally sewn up in cloth, 

 and is placed in a round chest of wood or tin, with perforated sides, and 

 put under the press. Long iron or wooden pegs are stuck through the 

 holes of the mould, in order to facilitate the removal of the whey during 

 pressure. After a short time the cheese is removed from the mould, is 

 broken up and put into a fresh cloth, and again pressed for a short time. 

 This treatment is repeated several times, till finally the cheese is allowed 

 to remain in the press, under great pressure, for several days. In the 

 meantime it is turned repeatedly, and care is taken that the whey flows 

 from the mould. The pressure is increased to such an extent that it 

 finally amounts to 30 kilos, per kilo, of cheese. After the pressure has 

 been finished, the cheese is taken out of the mould, divested of its 

 cheese-cloth, brought into the store, and treated in such a way that a 

 hard rind is imparted to it. This is done by allowing it to remain for 

 several days in a brine solution, or by rubbing salt into it. The cheeses 

 which have salt rubbed into them, especially if they be very fat, are sewed 

 up in linen, so that their shape may not be lost. As soon as the rind has 

 been made sufficiently firm by the action of the salt, the cheese is dipped 

 for a moment in warm water or warm whey. It is then dried and put in 

 the ripening-room, where it is turned daily until it has become perfectly 

 dry. When it has become dry, it is turned in summer three times and in 

 winter twice a week. From time to time it is rubbed with butter. At an 

 average temperature (15 C.) Cheddar cheese ripens so as to be ready for 

 sale in from three to four months. Cheese of an average size of 27 kilos, do 

 not attain their highest perfection till from six to ten months have elapsed. 

 Large cheeses require nearly two years before they are ripened. In the 

 store the Cheddar cheese loses in the course of a year about 15 per cent 

 of its weight. Those cheeses which are most highly prized, and which 

 are exported in quantity, possess a firm wax-like appearance, but are at 

 the same time porous. When ripe in the inside, as well as near the rind, 

 a small bright green development of mould may be observed. Cheddar 

 cheese are imitated, especially in Holland and America, as well as in 

 Sweden. 100 kilos, of milk yield on an average 9 to 11 kilos, of fresh 

 fatty Cheddar cheese. 



The Preparation of Edam Cheese in Holland. The Edam cheeses (cats' 

 heads, fetes de maure in France) are chiefly made in North Holland, and are 

 placed on the market in large quantities from the town of Edam, which 



