3W ENGXAND FARMER, 



AND GARDENS R'S JOURNAL. 



PUBLISHED BV GEORGE C. BAllRETT, NO. 52 iNOKTH MARKET STREET, (Agricultural Warehouse.) — T. G. FESSENDEN, EDITOR. 



JL. XIII. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 183-5. 



NO. 33. 



^SEH S&^asa^* 



[Translated from the Frenrh, for the New England Farmer.] 

 CHEESE. 

 {Continued Iroin iiiii;e252. ) 

 f CHEESES WHICH PRESERVE A SOFT CON- 

 SISTENCY. 



Till! rennet being prepared, it is nii.xed with the 

 ilk iiitentlctl to be cmdlcil ; after remaining in a 

 ite of repose, a greater or less space of time, 

 cording to the eircunistanc.es, we have previ- 

 isly mentioned, the coagidation or curdling takes 

 ace. When the milk is suflieiently cm-died, the 

 hey collects, and is ponred off, by inclining the 

 issel. The curd is then taken oft" vvitli a wooden 

 immcr and placed in cheese wattles. These 

 attles or hurdles are moulds made of osier, 

 rthen or wood, pierced with holes, and whose 

 rm and size depend upon those they wish to 

 ve the cheeses. The curd is drained in these 

 oulds, until it is sufficiently dry. The moulds 

 e placed upon grooved tables. We must obsCrVe 

 at tlie curd drains tlie better, the less it is bro- 

 •n in putting it into the moulds. A more speedy 

 id satisfactory result may lie obtained, if a press 

 used for this purpose, a custom, which some 

 ho make the cheeses from Brie, begin to follow. 

 urd sufficiently drained constitutes the cheeses, 

 hich are eaten fresh, and which are known un- 

 ;r the name.s of skini 7n{lk cheese, soft cheese, new 

 eeses, cream cheese. These different names de- 

 ;nd upon the qualities of the milk from whi(di 

 e cheeses are made. Thus the skim milk cheese 

 id nciv cheese are those made from skimmed 

 ilk. This milk may be allowed to curdle natn- 

 Uy, excepting when the chee-se is to be kept. 

 '■earn cheeses arc made from milk, preserving its 

 earn. Rennet must be used for this — therefore 

 e milk should be used as soon as taken from the 

 'W, aa otlierv/ise the cream would separate from 

 Soft cheese may be cither fat or meagre, al- 

 ough it is most often the former. These diticr- 

 it c'lceses are eaten in their fresh state, with a 

 tie salt, especially by the country people, or 

 ixed with sweet cream, and sprinkled with sugar 

 len they are of a good quality. 

 Cheese is principally made in summer, because 

 B inilk then curdles most easily. It can bow- 

 er bo made in winter by putting the vessel upon 

 t ashes, or in a " bain marie" (boiling water, in 

 lich a vessel is placed containing liquors or 

 lich requires a milder heat th.an the naked fhe,) 

 It the taste of the cheese thus obtained is not 

 reeablcv 



Cream-cheeses nmst not be confounded with 

 e dainties which appear upon our tables un- 

 r th.at name, (although it is improperly ap- 

 ied) — these are made of cream niLved with the 

 lite of eggs beaten stiff — all these kinds of pre- 

 rations from milk will not occupy our attention. 

 Fresh cheeses are made from the milk of cows, 

 eep and goats. To have them very good the 

 nnet is put into the milk as sooti as it is drawn ; 

 By are drained more or less. If they are wish- 



ed more fat, a little fresh cream taken from new 

 milk may be added to the hot milk ; in this case 

 as we have before mentioned, the quantity of 

 rennet must be increased. The curd of fat cheeses 

 is seltloni put into the mould as soon as it is 

 formed, because it is best to wait until they are 

 consolidated ; which takes a longer time for 

 cheese where there is cream than for those Avith- 

 out, as milk is susceptible of being easily pene- 

 trated by any odor, cream-cheeses may be scent- 

 ed, as you wish, by mi.xiug the aronuitics with the 

 milk when it is to be curdled. 



It may be supjiosed that cheeses thus drained 

 would pass sooner through the diflerent degrees 

 of fermentation, which would entirely spoil them, 

 if this decomposition was not prevented by a 

 method adapted to their nature. It is salt which 

 serves as a preventative. From this use dif?(3r- 

 ent kinds of cheeses which are preserved a 

 longer or shorter time, but rarely, however, above 

 six months, and which ai'e eaten after they are 

 dressed. 



Gray salt is always employed to season cheese 

 It should be dried perfectly and pounded very 

 fine. The following is the method niost generally 

 adopted for salting the cheeses: 



Finst — the cheeses intended to be salted must 

 be drained. When they have acquired the neces- 

 sary consistency, one side is sprinkled with salt ; 

 the next day, it is turned over and the other siile 

 salted in the same manner: thus you continue 

 every day, until the cheese has received sufficient 

 salt ; this is easily known by the taste and when it 

 will absorb no more. 



In this state, the cheeses are placed upon hiir- 

 dle.s, arranged for this purpose in the cheese-room ; 

 these arc covered with straw upon which the 

 cheeses are placed so as not to touch. They are 

 turned every day for about two months, and in, 

 such a manner that the straw may be alternately 

 above, to dry. After this time they are turned 

 not oltsner than every eight days, and care is 

 taken, from time to time to renew the straw and 

 wash the hurdles. 



It now remains to dress the cheeses. This 

 operation, which should not be done until the 

 moment of sale, has for object the softening of the 

 crust. It consists in first taking oft with a knife 

 the mould which covers the cheese. After this 

 different methods are employed : some cover the 

 surface with the dregs of wine, or better still with 

 a cloth saturated with vinegar ; others surround 

 them with nettle leaves or cresses, which are re- 

 newed from time to time ; sometimes hay dipped 

 in tepid water is used. Again, especially in Brie, 

 they are wrajjped in a cloth, soaked for a few 

 minutes in a weak lye ; finally, in this same prov- 

 ince, a certain quantity are put in a staved cask, 

 each between two cajots* separated by oat stra\v — 

 the cask is placed in a moist place. However, all 

 these modes do not appear to have a more certain 

 effect than the method of keeping them in a 



*Rushns or straw iuteiwoven — a web. 



cheese-room conveniently disposed, taking care 

 to turn them as we have before said ; or in a 

 place where they will not dry too much nor too 

 little. Those cellars, which keep wine well will 

 also answer for cheeses. They should be often 

 looked to, in order to put them in a damper 

 place, when they harden, and in a drier place 

 when too soft. 



OF THE DIFFERF.NT KINDS OF CHEESES OBTAINED 

 FROM cow's MILK. 



Among the fat cheeses, the most esteemed are 

 those of Viry, of Montdidier, of Neufchatel, and of 

 Brie. 



CHEESES OF VIRY. 



These are brought in baskets in the fonn of a 

 heart. They arc nothing else than new cream 

 beaten with a little rich curd, until it has taken a 

 certain consistency ; the percussion then ceases. 

 These cheeses are excellent eaten fresh ; but they 

 should be consumed speedily, otherwise they are 

 no longer good. 



The cheeses of Montdidier do not diflxr from 

 the preceding. 



CHEESES OF JIEUFCHATEL. 



The.se little cheeses, which are cylindrical and 

 about three inches long and two in diameter, are 

 liighly esteemed. They are rendered very fat, by 

 adding to the milk just taken from the cow at 

 noon, the delicate cream of the morning's milk ; 

 afterwards rennet is added. Others prefer putting 

 the cream to the curd, when it is taken from the • 

 pan to put into mould. Certainlj' the simplicity 

 of this procedure wlirrants its being employed ~ 

 everywhere, and there is no reason wliy it should 

 not succeed when, by the care bestowed upon the' 

 cows, a substantial milk can be obtained from 

 them. These cheeses keep fresh and good dur- 

 ing eight days, wrapped in Joseph paper. A great 

 many of these cheeses are thus dressed for raris 

 consumption during the winter. 



CHEESES OF BRIE. 



The best season for making cheeses, which are to 

 he kept is the autunm. Sonle are made in the 

 spring or the summer and in winter, but they are 

 eaten fresh or half salted ; those of the last sca-son 

 are the least esteemed. 



The rennet is put into the milk, as soon as. 

 it is drawn ; if delayed any time, the cream 

 would rise, and the cheese would be in layers one 

 fatter or richer than the others. When the curd 

 is formed, it is put into osier frames, and drained. 

 Some persons put it in wooden moulds, press it 

 down with their hands and place on top a 

 rotmd wooden platter upon which they put a 

 weiglit. They afterwards turn it out upon a 

 cloth, put it back in its mould, and place it under 

 a press. They repeat this operation five or six 

 times, changing the cloth each time and returning 

 the cheese. After that the cheese is placed in a 

 flat trough and its upper stuface rubbed with salt. 

 The next day it is turned, the other side rubbed 

 in the same manner, and left in the brine three 

 dnvs. 



