VARIETIES OF CHEESE: DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES. 53 
where for the most part the cheese is made. It is made almost * exclusively 
on isolated farms rather than in cooperative dairies, and the methods used 
are somewhat rudimentary. 
The milk, which is usually partly skimmed, is set with rennet at a tempera- 
ture of about 85° F. The curd is cut and stirred after about one and a half 
hours. After it has settled the whey is poured off. The stirring and draining 
are repeated several times until the curd is sufficiently firm to put into hoops. 
Moderate pressure is applied for a few hours. The cheese is salted at the end 
of 24 hours, and thereafter daily for several days. It is then transferred to the 
first curing room, which is kept cool and moist. After three or four weeks it 
has become covered with blue mold, when it is transferred to cellars or natural 
caves, where the ripening is completed in from three to four weeks longer. 
SERRA DA ESTRELLA. 
This is the most highly prized of the several kinds of cheeses made in 
Portugal. The name refers to the mountainous region in which the cheese is 
produced. For the most part it is made from the milk of sheep, but goats' milk 
is often added, or even used alone, and occasionally cows' milk is used. 
The method of making this cheese is comparatively simple. The milk is 
warmed in a kettle with little regard to the temperature obtained, and in most 
cases is coagulated by means of an extract of the flowers of a kind of thistle. 
The time required for curdling varies from two to six hours, depending upon 
the quantity of the extract used. The curd is broken up with a ladle or by 
hand, squeezed to remove most of the whey, and put into circular forms. After 
draining until sufficiently firm, the cheeses are removed from the hoops and 
allowed to ripen for several weeks, during which time they are frequently 
washed with whey and salted on the surface. The cheeses vary much in size, 
the larger measuring about 10 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick, and 
weighing about 5 pounds. The cheese is rather soft and has a pleasant, acid 
taste. 
A similar cheese, made in another part of Portugal, is known as Castello 
Branco. 
SERVIAN. 
In making Servian cheese the milk is warmed in a kettle over a fire or in a 
tub by immersing heated stones. After the rennet is added the milk is allowed 
to stand one hour, when the curd is lifted in a cloth and the whey allowed to 
drain. It is then placed in a wooden vessel, salted, and covered successively 
with whey for about eight days and fresh milk for about six days. 
SILESIAN. 
A cheese known locally as Schlesischer Weichquarg is made from cows' milk, 
skimmed, the process of manufacture resembling that of Hand cheese. The 
milk is allowed to coagulate from souring, and the curd is broken up and cooked 
at 100° F. for a short period. The curd is then put into a cloth sack and light 
pressure applied for 24 hours, after which it is kneaded by hand, and salt and 
milk or cream are added. Flavoring substances, such as onions or caraway 
seed, are also sometimes added. The cheese is eaten fresh. 
Another cheese, known as Schlesischer Sauermilchkase, is also made in much 
the same way as Hand cheese. The cheeses are kept on shelves covered with 
straw and are dried by the stove in winter and in a latticework house in sum- 
mer. Drying is continued until the cheese becomes very hard. It is ripened in 
a cellar, the process requiring from three to eight weeks, during which time it 
is washed with warm water every few days. 
