“ Home- Trade,” or “ Stirred- Curd” 271 
the curd is not allowed to mat into a mass or ched- 
dar, but is kept stirred in su¢h a way that the whey 
will drain off until it is dry enough so that the par- 
ticles of curd will not unite. It is then salted and, 
with more or less further maturing of the curd, is 
pressed and cured. The character of the resulting 
cheese, however, depends quite as much upon the 
amount and character of the changes that go on in 
the curd after the whey is drawn, and before it is 
put into press, as upon the mere fact of allowing it 
to pack in a mass (cheddar) or keeping it apart by 
stirring. If the cheddar variety is ground shortly after 
matting, and immediately salted and put to press, 
the resulting cheese will resemble the stirred-curd 
type. On the other hand, if the stirred-curd is kept 
warm and frequently stirred, many of the same 
changes will go on as in the cheddared curd, and 
the cheese when cured will resemble the cheddar type. 
Another distinction between the two processes is that 
in the case of the cheddar cheese the aim is to get rid of 
all the water consistent with a compact union of the par- 
ticles of casein. In the manufacture of the stirred-curd 
cheese, on the other hand, the aim is to retain as much 
water as possible without having it appear in the form 
of free water in the cheese. To this end, in the stirred- 
curd process those influences which tend to contact the 
curd, namely, the application of heat and the development 
of lactic acid, are not carried so far as in the cheddar pro- 
cess. In fact, in many cases they are not carried far 
enough to remove all of the water, and some remains in 
the cheese, making a “wet,” “sloppy” or “leaky” cheese. 
