110 
Cheshire Cheese. 
set together ; and it is desirable, particularly in cool weather, that 
this difference should not be greater, otherwise the subsequent 
labour will be more difficult. To determine exactly when the 
curd is in a fit state for what is called " breaking," requires some 
practical knowledge ; with attention this is soon acquired. The 
point is generally determined by gently pressing the surface of the 
milk with the hack of the hand, or by lifting up the skimming- 
dish, beneath which the curd and whey will distinctly appear if 
the coagulation is complete. Another criterion is the colour of 
the whey, which should be of a pale green. 
The " breaking" and " gathering" of the curd is the next 
process. This used formerly to be done by means of the hands 
and skimming-dish (a practice still continued in some dairies) ; 
but the curd-breaker is now generally made use of for this purpose 
(see Fig. 1). It is made of wire-work, in an oval form, and has 
a tin rim round it about an inch and a half broad. This wire- 
work cuts the curd, by being passed through it perpendicularly 
very, very gently at first, and in different directions, so that the 
whole mass is separated into very small portions. The length of 
time required for the operation depends upon the quantity of 
curd : for a 60 lb. cheese the operation often takes twenty or 
twenty-five minutes. After this the curd is left for a quarter of 
an hour to separate from the whey, and, if the weather be cool, 
the tub is covered to retain the heat. The curd having separated, 
which it does by sinking, a portion of the whey at the top is then 
taken out by the portable brass or tin pan before alluded to, being 
pressed into it, and emptied into the set-pan- The curd is then 
gently broken by the dairy-maid and her assistant passing their 
hands down to the bottom of the tub, and buoying up a portion 
of the curd at each time to the surface, or by again using the 
curd-breaker. The curd having been brought to the top, is 
easily seized, and separated into smaller portions, and the whey 
thereby released. Tliis opei'ation takes about half an hour. After 
the expiration of another half hour (or so soon as the curd is con- 
sidered sufficiently settled — for there is no saying to five or ten 
minutes how long each particular interval of rest should be), more 
whey is taken out, and the curd af terwards drawn as much< into 
one half of the bottom of the tub as its loose texture will admit 
of. * Upon the curd is then placed a semi-circular board adapted 
* At this stage, it is the practice witli some dairy-maids, when they sup- 
pose the curd is colder or more tender than it ought to be, to retiun a few 
gallons of whey after it has been heated over the boiler in the brass pan 
into llic tub again, to assist the discharge of the remaining whey. If, on 
the contrary, the curd is found warmer than is intended or desirable, which 
is sometimes the case in hot weather or during thunder, a few gallons of 
cold water are applied to prevent the curd becoming tough These incon- 
