CHEDDAR CHEESE 



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for the purpose of allowing any excess whey to escape and of 

 putting the curd in such form that the salt can be evenly and 

 thoroughly incorporated. This is accomplished by passing the 

 cubes of curd through the curd mill, which cuts it into pieces 

 of uniform size (see Fig. 55). This mill should be fitted 



Fig. 55. — One type of curd mill. 



with sharp knives which will cut the curd without crushing 

 it, in order to avoid the escape of the fat globules from the 

 curd. After it has been milled, it should be spread over the 

 bottom of the vat, and if it contains gas or bad odors, thorough 

 stirring and airing at this point will assist in their removal. 

 The curd can be stirred most satisfactorily by means of a curd 

 fork (see Fig. 56). It is important that the curd should be 



Fig. 56. — Fork for stirring the curd. 



kept warm during this process, and if the making process has 

 been properly conducted, the curd should now contain no free 

 whey which will escape by pressure from the hand. The mat- 

 ting and grinding process which have just been described con- 



