Cheddaring or Matting 257 
tendency to stick together. By this time there should 
have developed a sufficient amount of lactic acid so 
that the curd will draw out in fine threads a 
quarter of an inch long when applied to the hot 
iron. 
When the curd has reached the highest temper- 
ature, it may be allowed to settle, and a part of the 
whey may be drawn off the top of the vat. This 
is of advantage particularly when the development 
of lactic acid is likely to be rapid, and it is de- 
sirable to separate the whey from the curd in a very 
short time, but sufficient whey should be left to 
cover all of the curd two or three inches deep 
until sufficient acid has been developed for the 
cheddaring process. 
Period IV., cheddaring, or matting. —When suffi- 
cient acid has developed in the whey, it is drawn 
off from the vat through the gate or by means 
of a syphon. The curd is then allowed to mat 
together into a mass, which is the distinctive fea- 
ture of the cheddar process. This matting together 
may be done either in the vat or in a _ special 
vessel, called a curd sink. In the former case, 
when all the whey is run off the particles of curd 
are brought together upon the two sides of the vat 
and a channel opened between them, so that any 
whey held by the particles of curd may be al- 
lowed to escape. When the particles of curd are 
sufficiently matted together to maintain themselves in- 
tact, the mass is cut up into blocks about 8x8x12 
inches, and these blocks are turned over so that 
Q 
