1909.] Cheese-making for Small Holders. 



93 



when it feels firm and springy, and breaks with a clean 

 fracture. A large knife, long enough to reach the bottom 

 of the tub, is now taken, and the curd is carefully cut into 

 J-in. squares. When cutting is completed, the curd is gently 

 broken up with a skimming dish, and reduced as far as pos- 

 sible into J-in. cubes. Stirring by hand continues for from 

 10 to 15 minutes, and then the curd is allowed to settle. A 

 cheese cloth is now thrown over the tub and pressed down 

 to the curd, and a quantity of whey ladled off into a pail, and 

 the temperature of this whey raised by immersion in hot 

 water to such a degree that on the return of the whey to 

 the cheese tub the whole of the contents will be raised to 

 gS° F. or ioo° F. This process is known as "scalding " or 

 "cooking " the curd. (The term is a misnomer, but is one 

 used by all cheese-makers.) In order to estimate the tem- 

 perature to which that portion of the whey removed should 

 be heated, it is first necessary to ascertain the quantity of the 

 coagulated milk in the tub and its temperature. In this 

 instance there are 5 gallons in the tub, and the ascertained 

 temperature is, say, 90 0 F. It is required to raise the whole to 

 98 0 F. ; therefore, each gallon of milk will have to be raised 

 8°. This, multiplied by 5 — the total gallons of milk used — 

 represents 40 0 of heat required. Two gallons of whey have 

 been taken off, and the temperature is 90° F. ; therefore, to 

 obtain the necessary degree of heat in the whole contents of 

 the tub, these two gallons must be heated to no° F., or, if 

 one gallon only had been taken off, the temperature would 

 need to be raised to 130 0 F. It is not, however, advisable 

 to raise the temperature of whey to a higher degree than, 

 say, 120 0 F., or the cheeses will suffer in quality. 



The rule for scalding is as follows : Multiply the number 

 of gallons in the tub by the number of degrees of heat by 

 which the milk has to be raised. Divide the number so 

 obtained by the gallons of whey removed. The result added 

 to the temperature of the whey when taken off will be the 

 temperature to which the whey must be heated before re- 

 turning to the cheese tub. When the curd has been scalded 

 to 98 0 F. or ioo° F., stirring by hand continues for 20 to 

 30 minutes, or till the curd becomes tough and bright in 

 appearance and sinks rapidly. On pressing a little in the 



