1846 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
269 
ton of cheese, or half an ounce to seventy-five pounds, 
is considered a moderate proportion. The coagulation 
is commonly effected in an hour or an hour and a half. 
The warmer the milk, or the stronger the rennet, 
the sooner coagulation ensues; but the curd is tougher 
and less in quantity; on the contrary, the cooler the 
milk, or weaker the rennet, the longer the curd is in 
forming, but it is both more tender and there is more 
of it. Too much rennet tends to impart an unpleasant 
Savor or bitterness to the cheese. 
It may generally be expected that the heat of the curd 
when formed, will be four or five degrees less than the 
milk was when the rennet was applied; and the dif¬ 
ference, especially in cool weather, should not be 
greater. To determine when the curd is fit for break¬ 
ing, requires some practical knowledge. It is usually 
done by gently pressing the surface of the milk with 
the back 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 crite¬ 
rion is the color of the whey, which should be pale 
green. 
The breaking and gathering of the curd next engage 
attention. These operations are performed by the hand 
and skimming dish, or more commonly the curd-breaker. 
This implement is made of wire-work, in an oval form, 
and has a rim of tin round it about an inch and a half 
broad. It cuts the curd by being passed through it perpen¬ 
dicularly, and at first very, very gently in different direc¬ 
tions, so that the whole mass is separated into very 
small portions. For a 60 lb. cheese, this operation 
takes twenty or twenty-five minutes. The curd is then 
left for a quarter of an hour to separate from the whey, 
and if the weather is cool, a cover is put over the tub 
to retain the heat. After the separation of the curd, 
which falls to the bottom, a portion of the whey at the 
top is taken out by the portable brass or tin pan being 
pressed into it, and emptied into the set-pan; the curd 
is then gently broken, by being raised with the hands 
to the surface, or by the renewed use of the curd- 
breaker. When the curd is brought to the top, it is 
easily raised and separated into small portions for the 
release of the whey. This part of the process takes 
about half an hour. After about another half hour, or 
as soon as the curd is sufficiently settled, more whey is 
taken out, and the curd, so far as its contexture will ad¬ 
mit, drawn into one-half of the bottom of the tub; a 
semicircular board is then placed on the curd, loaded 
with a weight of about 30 lbs. The board is perfora¬ 
ted with holes about half an inch in diameter, for the 
escape of the whey. The tub is now set three or four 
inches atilt, to facilitate the discharge of the whey from 
the curd, and the skimming dish is used to lade it out. 
On its way to the set pan, the whey passes through a 
sieve in which any curd contained in it is collected. 
This cuYd is called slip-curd, and by some dairy-maids 
is not returned to the tub. The weight and board are 
shortly removed, and such part of the curd as has been 
squeezed from, under them is again collected on one 
side, and heavier weight of 50 or 60 lbs. applied as be¬ 
fore. As the whey is expelled from the curd it is re¬ 
moved. In a quarter of an hour the board is taken off 
again, the curd cut by intersections six or eight inches 
apart, and then the board replaced, doubly loaded. 
Sometimes the slip-curd is now added, the weight is 
again increased, if necessary; care being taken to aug¬ 
ment the pressure gradually, and to regulate it by the 
degree of compactness of the curd; for if caution is not 
used in this respect, both now and afterwards, a con¬ 
siderable portion of butyraceous matter will be forced 
out to the detriment of the cheese. 
The curd is again cut into square pieces, taken out of 
fie cheese-tub, and broken a little by the hands as it is 
passed into the thrusting tub. Sometimes a large-sized 
cheese-vat, and at others a willow basket is substituted 
for the thrusting-tub. In this the further extraction of 
the whey is continued by the application of the screw, 
of which there are different kinds, but the principle is 
the same in all. Preference, however, seems due to 
the lever press, which possesses the advantage of sink¬ 
ing by its own weight, and of allowing the application 
gradually of any degree of pressure, with less attention 
on the part of the dairy-maid. 
The proportion of salt is not regulated by any definite 
rule. One farmer, distinguished for improvements in 
agriculture, uses one pound to forty-two pounds of 
curd. In another instance, more salt is used in summer 
than at other times, the average being one pound for 
forty pounds of dried cheese, or about forty gallons of 
milk. In autumn there is always more curd in the 
milk than at other seasons; and in wet weather there 
is sometimes an increase of milk without a correspond¬ 
ing augmentation of curd. Before applying the salt, 
the curd is cut into three or four equal parts, and these 
are broken into smaller pieces by the hand or by the 
curd-mill. The salt is then strewed over it, and the 
breaking continued till the salt is well intermixed, and 
the curd completely crumbled. 
The presses employed, for the two first days at least, 
and, if possible, during the whole process, should be 
within the influence of moderate heat; otherwise the 
the discharge of the whey will be retarded, and 
greater hazard incurred of the flavor of the cheese being 
injured by acidity, to which the whey is prone. On the 
second day after the cheese is put in the press, it is 
turned two or three times, and a clean cloth used each 
time of turning. On the third day the cheese is again 
turned once or twice. The heaviest press is now re¬ 
sorted to; and for a cheese of 60 or 70 lbs. weight, a 
pressure of 30 cwt. will be enough. On the fourth 
day it is usual to discontinue the pressure; but is some¬ 
times continued a day or two longer. 
Salting and Drying Room. —There are sometimes 
separate apartments for salting and drying, but gene¬ 
rally one room answers for both purposes. The salt 
can now be applied externally only, and if any good is 
done by it, the effect must be in the hardening of the 
coat of the cheese. 
It may be questioned whether it would not be a bet¬ 
ter plan to remove the cheese direct from the press to 
the cheese-room. The practice of external salting, 
however, is commonly observed. The cheese is taken 
out of the vat, and a strong bandage about two inches 
broad, and long enough to go three times round the 
cheese, is put upon it with salt underneath. It is 
fastened with strong pins; the cheese is placed on a 
stone or wooden shelf or bench, and salt spread on the 
top to within an inch or two of the edge. The cheese 
is turned daily, and fresh salt and a clean bandage are 
as often applied. Some persons continue this salting 
five or six days, others three weeks. The salting being 
completed, the cheese is well wiped or washed, a fresh 
bandage is put round it, and it is laid on a wooden 
shelf in the same room or an adjoining one, for the 
purpose of being dried. It is turned once a day, and 
when considered sufficiently dry it is removed to the 
cheese-room. The time for drying the cheese in the 
drying-room varies from seven to twenty days, and de¬ 
pends on the temperature of the weather, or of the cheese- 
room, to which it is next to be taken. In hot weather, 
and particularly if the cheese-room is exposed to the 
heat of the mid-day sun, the change from a too cold 
drying house is apt to cause cracks in the cheese. If 
these are left open, mites are soon generated, and the 
appearance of the cheese is hurt. In consequence, 
whey butter is sometimes used to fill them up. To pre¬ 
vent cracking, the windows of the drying and salting 
rooms are rarely if ever opened. The same is the case 
in the cheese-room, from which, in addition, the light 
is excluded. The heat of drying-rooms, it is thought, 
should range from 50 to 60 degrees. 
When a cheese is taken to the cheese-room, it is 
usual to scrape and clean its exterior, and to place it, 
at first, in the coolest part of the floor, and finally upon 
the warmest part. The bandage is continued for seve¬ 
ral weeks, and sometimes until the cheese is sold. The 
cheese is turned and wiped daily for three or four 
months, at least, and afterwards every alternate day. 
The floor of the cheese-room is generally covered with 
| dried rushes or wheat straw. It should be level, anal 
