8 



BULLETIN 669, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



For the first two hours the coagulum is left undisturbed, in order 

 that the free whey may escape and that the curd may acquire a con- 

 sistence that is not readily broken to pieces. Finely broken curd is 

 unfavorable for drainage. During the last hour the curd is worked 

 toward the center of the cloth by means of a tin or wooden ladle. 

 The ends of each drain cloth are then loosened and the cloth and its 

 contents placed in a boxlike rack which rests upon a wide, flat board, 

 after which first the sides and then the ends of the cloth are alter- 

 nately folded over the curd. The end pieces of the cloth are then 

 tucked in, giving each drain cloth and contents a baglike appearance. 



Fig. 2. — Draining equipment in a modern factory. 



After the preliminary draining just described the manner of han- 

 dling the curd in the bags will depend upon how soon they are to 

 be pressed. If the cheese is to be pressed the same day the pro- 

 cedure is as follows: After draining for 30 minutes the bags are 

 piled one upon another in a rack, where they remain for about half 

 an hour, after which the bags from two racks are placed in a single 

 pile. Usually two or three racks are placed one above another and 

 the bottom sticks are removed. For about an hour the three or four 

 dozen bags remain undisturbed, save for a rearrangement which 

 occurs once during the period, w T hen the position of the bags is 

 reversed. 



When the curd is not pressed until the following day, the bags of 

 curd are placed on ice at once. 



