Composition of Clieese. 
59 
4. When the curd lias bocome sufliciently consolidated and is 
ready to be vatted, it is crumbled down into small fragments. 
For this operation every dairy should be furnished with a curd- 
mill, a simple and iuexjH'nsive contrivance, which saves much 
labour, anil })roduces, generally speaking, a more uniform material 
than the hand. 
5. Cheese is also spoiled occasionally by badly made rennet, 
that is, rennet which is either too weak or has a disagreeable 
smell. In the one case the curd does not separate completely, 
and that which separates remains tender ; in the other the milk 
is tainted, and the flavour of the cheese is affected. 
The rennet used in different parts of England varies exceed- 
ingly in strength and in flavour. Even in the same locality the 
usage differs on adjacent farms. Although 1 have in my posses- 
sion some dozens of rennet recipes, which were given to me by 
experienced dairymaids, each as the very best, I sliall not give a 
single receipt for making rennet, as my object is rather to eluci- 
date chemical principles than to prescribe details ; and also 
because, as long as the smell of the rennet is fresh, and a sufficient 
quantity is used, it matters little, in my opinion, how it is made. 
The ordinary practice in Cheshire is to make rennet fresh 
every morning by taking a small bit of dried skin, infusing it in 
water, and using this infusion for one day's making. In 
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire a supply is made from the pickled 
veils, which lasts for two or three months. Generally the rennet 
is made in these counties twice in the season. I have had a good 
deal of discussion with practical men respecting the comparative 
merits of these two methods. The Cheshire farmers almost 
unanimously object that the rennet does not keep well when made 
in any quantity of pickled veils. This, however, is quite a mistake. 
I have in my possession some rennet which is as nicely flavoured 
now as it was some nine months ago, when it w^as made. It has, 
of course, a peculiar animal odour, but nothing approaching a 
putrid smell. The spices which are used in some localities, such 
as cloves and lemons, tend very much to keep the rennet in a 
good condition and give it an agreeable flavour. The objection, 
then, of the Cheshire farmers, that rennet, when a supply is 
made, does not keep, and spoils the flavour of cheese, is certainly 
untenable. I am much inclined to consider the practice of 
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, of making a considerable supply 
of rennet, a good one ; for, when once the strength of the rennet 
has been ascertained, it is merely necessary to take the proper 
quantity, one or two cupfuls, to produce the desii'ed effect with 
certainty ; whereas, when the rennet is made day by day, there is 
not the same certainty of obtaining an infusion of uniform 
strength. 
