American Cheddar, Factory Syslem 



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pressed. The hoop is usualh a cylinder of heavy tin with a 

 "follower" of wood on which the pressure is applied. Before the 

 curd is put in, the hoop is lined with cheese cloth which remains on 

 the cheese, when it is taken out. The press mostly used in the fac- 

 tory is the continuous pressure "gang-press" in which a number of 

 cheese can be pressed at the same time. 



Taking the Cheese out of the Hoops 



Curing. After 18 hours" pressure the cheese is taken out of the 

 press and out of the hoop, weighed and placed on a shelf or table in 

 the curing room. For the first week or ten days it is kept at a tem- 

 perature of about 70°, later the cheese is removed to a cooler room 

 and possibly placed in cold storage. Usually it is paraffined to 

 prevent too much drying and cracking of the rind. 



To cure a first class Cheddar Cheese takes from three to six 

 months, but most of the American cheese is made to cure much 

 more quickly and is eaten two to four months old. Indeed, it is 

 generally shipped from the factory eight to ten days old and what- 

 ever further curing it gets is in the warehouse of the commission- 

 man or in the grocery store. 



