On Cheese-making in Home Dairies and in Factories. 289 
will also be varied according to the season of the year : in the 
autumn more of it is required to coagulate the milk than in 
spring or summer, the milk in the autumn being more heavily 
charged with solids. The exact quantity of rennet to be added 
will depend on its quality and purity. But if it be as good as 
it ought to be, half a pint to 100 gallons of milk is sufficient. 
The test of the strength of the rennet is that the milk with which 
it is mixed shall have perceptibly thickened in fifteen minutes, 
and that coagulation shall be perfected in an hour, the vats 
meanwhile being covered to preserve uniformity of temperature. 
When the curd will break cleanly over the finger, coagulation 
is perfected, and now the curd-knife — a many-bladed cutter, the 
edges being about half an inch apart — is passed slowly lengthwise 
through the mass, from one end of the vat to the other, and back 
again, until all is cut. The edges of this knife are sharp and 
fine, so as not to bruise the tender curd. The curd is now allowed 
to rest a few minutes, until the whey begins to float over it, when 
' the curd-knife is again passed through the mass, crossing the 
direction taken before, and leaving the curd in pillars of half an 
inch square. In this stage the whey rapidly escapes, while the 
curd gradually subsides towards the bottom of the vat. After 
remaining in this condition for a short time the curd is very 
slowly and tenderly turned over by the hands, after which the 
curd-knife is freely, though very carefully used, cutting the curd 
into pieces about the size of hazel-nuts. A little steam is theni 
turned into the space between the tin and the woodwork, which 
was occupied by cold water during the right, soon after which 
the curd will bear turning: about a little faster. During: this 
time the whey continues to rapidly exude, and the pieces of curd 
to shrink correspondingly in bulk. Up to this stage the curd 
' demands the most delicate handling, as it is very tender, in 
order that it may not be bruised, and that none of its liquid fats 
may pass off into the whey. More steam is now turned on, and 
the curd is stirred much quicker, in order to prevent it being 
scorched at the bottom of the vat. As the whey has by this 
time almost completely left the curd, the latter has lost its 
I tenderness, and becomes comparatively hard and tough. A 
curd-rake may now be vigorously used to keep the curd-particles 
continually in motion. When the temperature of the mass has 
reached 90° Fahr., the steam is turned off, and the curd kept 
stirring for a time until the vat-bottom has cooled, so as not to 
; injure the curd. It is now left at rest for some ten minutes. 
At the end of this interval the steam may be again turned on at 
full pressure, and it is imperative that the curd now be kept in 
constant motion. The manager will now, as before, use his 
thermometer occasionally until it denotes 100°, when the steam 
VOL. XI. — S. S. U 
