The Practice of Cheshire Cheese MaMnrj. 
431 
conditions of weather, dairy accommodation, and material sur- 
roundings ; every maker must use his own individual percep- 
tions, and adapt and vary with judgment his course of making. 
The following rules are, however, followed generally in the 
making of Cheshire cheese. 
The EarUj Ripening Process. — The night's milk is sieved into 
the vat in the dairy and left until morning ; the cream is then 
skimmed off and the morning's milk sieved into the vat, with 
the cream slightly warmed ; the heat of the whole is then raised 
to 78° or 80° F., and sour whey is added in the proportion of 
1 quart to 30 gallons of milk, to promote the formation of the 
necessary acidity in the curd. Rennet is then added, and the 
curd should be ready to cut in an hour ; the quantity used is 
larger by 50 per cent, on this process of making than on the 
other systems; when it is ready, the curd will break clean over 
the finger without adhering when dipped into it and raised side- 
ways. The knives or cutters are then used and the curd is 
carefully cut, the operation ceasing when the pieces are the size 
of beans ; it is then allowed to settle, and the whey remains on 
until there is a decided development of acidity. The curd is 
then gathered to one end of the vat and the whey drawn, then 
it remains for a short time on the bottom of the vat to drain ; it 
is then salted, in the proportion of one quart of salt to 50 lbs. 
of curd, and filled into moulds (into which a cheese-cloth has 
been laid), in moderate-sized pieces, without grinding. After 
standing twenty-four hours the cheese is turned into another 
hoop ; a clean dry cloth is used. It is turned again the follow- 
ing morning, and put under light pressure, and pressed for two 
or three days, being turned each morning, and a clean dry cloth 
used. The cheese is then taken from under press if the drainage 
has ceased or not, and a thin calico binder is pasted round it, 
and it is removed to the ripening room. For the first week it is 
turned every day, then every other day, and at the end of three 
or four weeks it should be ready for sale. 
The Medium Bipening Process. — The practice usually adopted 
is to sieve the night's milk into the vat and to cool it down (if 
necessary), so that it will be at a temperature of 66° to 70° F. in 
the morning ; this is regulated by the season of the year, the 
temperature of the dairy, and the quantity of the milk. Next 
morning the cream is slammed off, the morning's milk is added, 
and the cream, slightly warmed, passed through the sieve with 
it, and the temperature of the whole is raised to 86° or 88° F. by 
turning the steam under the vat. If coloured cheese is being 
made, the annatto is run in at this stage and well mixed with the 
milk ; the rennet is next added and another stirring given, and 
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