276 Milk and Its Products 
so that the curd slides out of the can with as little 
breaking as possible. The conditions are best when 
the mass of curd, on being dumped, retains its form 
and breaks with a clean vitreous fracture. The 
time required for drainage may range from two to 
twenty-four hours, varying with the temperature, 
amount of rennet used, amount of acidity developed, 
and other unknown factors. When dry enough to 
handle easily, the cloths are folded up in such a 
manner as to enclose the curd, and the whole is 
pressed under rather heavy pressure till the proper 
consistency is secured. When taken from the press 
the cakes of curd are brought to a uniform con- 
sistency by kneading or working, or they may be 
passed through an ordinary meat chopper. About 
1% per cent of salt is then thoroughly incorporated 
and the cheese molded into the desired shape. 
The molding is a matter of some difficulty, as the 
particles of cheese move easily on themselves, while 
they tend to adhere to metal: or wooden surfaces. 
Large factories have specially constructed machines 
for molding the cheese. On a small scale, the most 
satisfactory implement is a smooth tin tube of the 
proper diameter and long enough to hold two or 
three cheeses. The tube is filled full of the curd 
and then forced out of one end with a smoothly 
fitting piston, after which the cheeses are cut apart 
with a thread and neatly wrapped first in thin parch- 
ment paper and then in tin foil. According: to the 
quality of milk, from 60 to 80 standard cheeses should 
be made from 100 pounds of milk. 
