Salting and Pressing. 261 
hardens the curd. It also checks the further devel- 
opment of lactic acid. The salt should be uniformly 
mixed through the curd, and the curd -kept stirred 
until it is fully dissolved. A salt of rather coarse 
grain is preferable for cheese. It requires a some- 
what longer time for solution, and the particles of 
the salt are carried to the centre of the pieces of 
curd more effectually. When the salt is thoroughly 
dissolved the curd is ready to put in the press. 
During the cheddaring and grinding stage va- 
rious means, as covering with cloths, etc., have 
been taken to keep up the temperature of the curd, 
and at the time when the cheese is ready to salt 
it should not be below 90° F. When the salt is 
added the curd should be spread out thin, so that 
it will cool off, and when it is put into the press 
should be at a temperature of from 78° to 82° F. 
If the curd is put in the press too warm, the fat 
is more easily pressed out and lost. On the other 
hand, if the curd is at too low a temperature when 
put in the press, it is more difficult to make the 
particles adhere together into a solid mass. The 
object of pressing the cheese is to bring it into a 
form suitable for transportation and convenient for 
consumption. The pressure also removes any surplus 
moisture that is in the curd; but the primary object 
of pressing is not to remove moisture. In fact, all 
of the moisture that is removed from the cheese by 
the press is that held by capillarity between the par- 
ticles of curd, and practically none can be expressed 
from the particles themselves. If the curd is too 
