36 BULLETIN 608, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The milk, which has been skimmed to a greater or less extent, is heated in 
copper kettles to a temperature varying, according to the acidity of the milk, 
from 90° to 100° F. The kettle is then removed from the fire, rennet added, 
and the kettle covered and allowed to stand for 20 minutes to one hour, when the 
curd is cut very fine and cooked, with stirring, to 115° or 125° F. for from 15 to 45 
minutes. The curd is removed from the kettle by means of a cloth, and after 
draining for a short time is put into hoops about 10 inches high and 18 inches 
or more in diameter, and lined with coarse cloth before filling. Pressure is 
then applied for 24 hours, the cheese being turned frequently and the cloths 
changed. The salting, which is begun in from one to three days after remov- 
ing from the press, is continued for a considerable length of time, often 40 days. 
The cheeses are then transferred to a cool, well-ventilated room, where they 
may be stored for years, the surface being rubbed with oil from time to time. 
The exterior of the cheese is dark green or black, due to coloring matter rubbed 
on the surface. A greenish color in the interior has been attributed to the con- 
tamination with copper from the vessels in which the milk is allowed to stand 
before skimming. 
The Lombardy cheese made from April to September is known locally as 
Sorte Maggenga and that from October to March as Sorte Vermenga. The 
Reggian cheese is made only in summer. 
Parmesan cheese when well made may be broken and grated easily and may 
be kept for an indefinite number of years. It is grated and used largely for 
soups and with macaroni. A considerable quantity of this cheese is imported 
into this country and sells for a very high price. 
PECORINO 
The Formaggi Pecorini are the sheep 's-milk cheeses made in Italy and of 
which there are numerous more or less clearly defined kinds. The most com- 
mon cheese of this sort is the one designated Cacio Pecorino Romano, or merely 
Romano. This varies considerably in size and shape. A cheese of ordinary 
size is about 10 inches in diameter and 6 inches in thickness and weighs from 
2 to 25 pounds. The interior is slightly greenish in color, somewhat granular, 
and devoid of eyes or holes. In making Romano cheese the milk is heated to 
100° F. and coagulated by rennet in 15 minutes. The curd is cut, cooked to 
120° F., stirred, put into forms, and allowed to drain. Salting is done both 
by immersion in brine and by rubbing salt on the surface. As much as 7 or 8 
per cent of salt is usually incorporated in the course of one month. This process 
is sometimes facilitated by punching several holes in the cheese. Ripening is 
usually done at a temperature of 60° or 70° F. and requires eight months or 
longer. 
The Pecorino Dolce is artificially colored with annatto and subjected to 
considerable pressure in the process of manufacture. 
Pecorino Tuscano is a smaller cheese than the Romano, measuring usually 6 
inches in diameter and 2 or 4 inches in thickness and weighing from 2 to 5 pounds. 
Among the sheep 's-milk cheeses bearing local names are the following : Ancona, 
Cotrone, Iglesias, Leonessa, Puglia and Viterbo. In the manufacture of Viterbo 
cheese the milk is curdled by means of a wild artichoke Cynara scolymus. 
PECORINO SARDO 
This is a rennet, sheep 's-milk cheese, made in Sardinia. A rennet made by 
soaking calves' stomachs a day in salt water is added to the freshly drawn 
milk, the temperature for adding the rennet being determined by the hand 
The coagulated milk is allowed to stand until clear whey shows around the 
edges of the kettle, when the curd is broken up and put into molds under light 
pressure until the whey stops running. The cheese is salted in brine for a day 
and is then placed in the curing room. 
PENTELEl 
This cheese is made in Rumania from sheep's milk by the general process used 
in making Caciocavallo. 
PFISTER 
This cheese is classed in the Emmenthaler group, though its method of manu- 
facture differs materially. It is made from fresh skim milk of cows. It takes 
its name from Pfister Huber, of Cham, Switzerland. He evidently was the 
first to manufacture it. 
