Swiss CHEESE—F'rom MILK TO CURING CELLAR. 151 
as it flows around the kettle and the heat is more evenly dis- 
tributed. 
291. Cooking the Curd. 
The kettle is next moved over the fire, or the steam is 
turned on if it be a steam kettle. The operator stirs it vigor- 
ously with the wire stirrer mentioned above, and the curd breaks 
and contracts into pieces as fine as wheat. It is stirred until 
the temperature has been raised to 40° or 42° Reaumur.* After 
Fig. 74.—A round Swiss cheese in the hoop. The cheese is made the 
thickness of the hoop, and the diameter is adjusted accordingly by the rope 
which runs around it. A round board lies on top and presses the cheese into 
the hoop. 
the whey has reached this temperature the kettle is swung away 
from the fire or the steam is turned off, as the case may be. 
The stirring is, however, contined until the curd is quite firm, 
when it is allowed to settle. 
292. Testing Curd for Firmness. 
A curd is corsidered firm enough for dipping when it 
ceases to feel mushy and will not squeak between the teeth. Some 
makers test the cook by squeezing it into a roll in the hand and 
then noting when it will break short. 
This is a point where the maker’s judgment is very im- 
portant. If the curd is not cooked enough, it will result in a 
glaesler, and if cooked toc much the fermentations will work 
so slow that eyes will not form. 
*Reaumur thermometers which start with the freezing point of water as 
0° and run to 80° at the boiling point, are used almost entirely by Swiss 
makers. 40° and 42° are therefore equal to 180° and 135° Fahrenheit. 
