AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
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AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, THE MOST USEFUL, AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.— WASHINGTON. 
CONDUCTING EDITOR, 
ORANGE JUDD, A. M. 
PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY 
ALLEN &, CO.) 189 Water-st., New-York 
VOL. XIV.—NO. 20.] 
NEW-YORK, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1855. 
[NEW SERIES.—NO. 98. 
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HINTS ON CHEESE MAKING. 
[Continued from page 290.] 
31. Wliey-Cheese. —In giving the principal 
varieties, we did not allude to whey-cheese. 
The whey which separates from the curd, 
particularly the white whey which is pressed 
out towards the close, frequently contains 
considerable quantities of curd, and especial¬ 
ly of butter. (See §23, page 273.) If this 
whey is heated, the curd and butter will rise 
to the surface, when they can be readily 
skimmed off and made into a very rich cheese. 
A very excellent cheese may be made with 
alternate layers of new-milk curd and this 
whey-curd. It will almost always pay to 
let the whole whey stand a few hours, and 
churn the cream which rises for butter, if it 
is not made into whey-cheese. It will thus 
be seen that buttermilk (see §26), and even 
whey itself, may often be used to better ad¬ 
vantage than for feeding to swine, as is com¬ 
monly practiced. 
32. Heating the Milk. —This is an import¬ 
ant point. Before adding the runnet, the 
milk should be as nearly as possible to nine¬ 
ty-five degrees (95°), for whole milk, and a 
little lower for skimmed milk. If colder 
than this the curd is soft and difficult to be 
freed from whey, and if warmer it is hard 
and tough. Heating in an iron kettle is ob¬ 
jectionable, since.there is danger of singing 
or fire-fanging those portions of the milk in 
contact with the vessel, which is certain to 
injure the flavor of the cheese more or less. 
If heated in any vessel placed directly over 
a fire, the milk should be stirred constantly, 
to prevent over-heating any portion. The 
best method is to use a vessel with a double 
bottom, or one placed within another, the 
outer one being filled with water. But when 
this is not convenient—and it seldom is in 
small dairies—the best plan is to put the 
whole of the milk into a tin vessel, and im¬ 
merse it in hot water. Some practice add¬ 
ing hot water directly to the milk; but 
this is objectionable, because the quantity of 
whey is often inconveniently increased, and 
especially because the milk first touched by 
the hot water is too much scalded. It is 
very desirable that none of the milk should 
at any time be raised above the required 
temperature (95°), lest the oil sacs be melt¬ 
ed and broken before being inclosed in the 
curd, which will give an oiliness to the fatty 
matter of the milk, and also waste some 
portion of it. If by chance the milk is heat¬ 
ed above 95° before the addition of the run- 
net, it should be reduced to the proper tem¬ 
perature, by letting it stand a few minutes, 
or by immersing the containing-vessel in 
cold water; or, better still, by placing in it 
a tin vessel of cold water. 
33. Adding the Runnet. —The preparation 
of the runnet was referred to in section 29. 
It may be further stated, that it should not 
be in a putrid state, for in this case it will be 
likely to affect the flavor, and also introduce 
the elements of decay directly into the 
cheese. It should also be filtered or strained 
clear just before using. We often see decay 
commencing at one or more points, and 
spreading over the whole cheese. This is 
no doubt generally to be attributed to small 
portions of the runnet, which would have 
been avoided by careful straining. The 
quantity of runnet required for a given 
amount of milk can not be definitely stated, 
since we have no means of obtaining it of u 
uniform strength. Trial in each case is the 
only guide. If a large quantity is prepared, 
as recommended in §29, little difficulty will 
be experienced after two or three trials. 
The first trial of a new “ batch ” of runnet 
should be made with a few quarts or gallons 
of milk, by which the proportion for a larger 
quantity can be readily estimated. Too 
much makes the curd tough, injures the 
flavor of the cheese, causes it to heave or 
swell out from fermentation, and renders it 
more liable to decay ; while too little con¬ 
sumes too much time, and permits a large 
quantity of butter to escape entanglement in 
the curd. Just sufficient should be added to 
curdle the milk well in from 20 to 30 or 35 
minutes. 
34. Separation of the Whey. —This is also 
an important point, since any thing short of 
perfect separation leaves behind sugar of 
milk and lactic acid—both elements of de¬ 
cay ; while too rapid separation greatly di¬ 
minishes the amount of butter. This last 
point is not as important where the second 
cheesing, or churning of whey-cream, de¬ 
scribed in §31, is practiced. We can not 
recommend a better practice of handling the 
curd, than that of Mrs. Lincoln, described on 
page 273, §21. In making the celebrated 
Stilton cheeses, of England, we believe the 
curd is not broken at all, but is carefully— 
gently at first—pressed till the whey gradu¬ 
ally drains out. We do not see why this 
plan is not an excellent one, though we are 
not aware that it is practiced elsewhere. If 
any of our readers have tried it, will they 
please inform us as to their experience. 
35. Salting Cheese. —The kind of salt is 
important, and we earnestly advise all cheese 
makers to prepare their salt in the manner 
described in §19, page 242. Some add the 
full quantity of salt to the finely-chopped 
curd, just before putting it into the press. 
Others give a double salting to one-third of 
the curd, and place it in the center of the 
cheese, and then rub salt upon the surface. 
Others again make the whole cheese with¬ 
out and salt, and depend upon after absorp¬ 
tion of salt from the surface. This may 
answer for small cheeses, but is not to be 
recommended for general practice. The 
plan first named is, we think, the safest and 
the least troublesome. It is quite desirable 
that every particle of the cheese should be 
in contact with salt, though this is not so 
important as in salting butter, since salt will 
diffuse itself through cheese, which it will 
not do in butter. The amount of salt de¬ 
pends somewhat upon its quality, upon the 
perfect separation of whey, and upon the 
length of time and the climate in which the 
cheese is to be kept. A medium quantity is 
about one ounce of salt to three pounds of 
cheese. An ordinary tea-cupful of dry, Syr¬ 
acuse salt weighs ounces, so that about 
a tea-cupful may be applied to 15 or 16 
pounds of cheese. It is always best to rub 
the surface of the cheese occasionally with 
a little salt, that the outside, which is most 
exposed to the air, may be more effectually 
preserved. The same end is secured when 
salt butter is rubbed over the surface. 
36. Coloring Cheese. —Various substances 
are added to the milk before curding, to give 
color to the cheese. Saffron is the most 
common ; others use annatto, or marigold 
or carrots steeped in milk. The quantity of 
annatto required is very small, not more 
than a quarter of an ounce to 30 or 40 pounds 
of cheese. There is probably little injury 
from either of these substances, though the 
latter is largely adulterated. We do not be¬ 
lieve it advisable to employ any coloring 
