86 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
cheese tub to the cheese cloth. A strict observance of this rule will 
greatly enhance the value of the article; and as considerable manipulation 
is necessary in making that kind of cheese I am about to treat of, conse¬ 
quently the ablution of the hands and arms cannot be too scrupulously at¬ 
tended to 
English imthttim* cheese. —This variety of cheese, as above hinted, is 
not extensively made in this country, although it is very saleable in the 
New-York and other markets. Owing to their size and solidity, they are 
well adapted fora warm climate, hence the call for them from the south. 
They are much used for ships stores, and as they are not very liable to 
spoil by age, they are frequently kept until toward the end of the follow¬ 
ing season, when other varieties become scarce, when they prove a fine, 
sound, old cheese. They weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds. Their 
color should be as near as possible to rich grass made butter. In former 
years they have sold from one to two cents per pound higher than those 
known by the name of American cheese, and as they lose more in weight, 
it ought to be so, to afford the manufacturer an equal profit. Yet for the 
last two years the best American dairies have, fully equalled them in price. 
They sold in the New-York market last fall at eleven cents per pound at 
wholesale. 
JVumber of cows. —From fifteen to twenty good cows are necessary to 
make the best quality of this article; with that number, one cheese may 
be made at eveiy milking through the cheese making season, and three 
or four each day for five or six weeks during the flush of the milk. To 
put two milkings to one cheese, which must be done where the number 
of cows are n.uch smaller, deteriorates it in quality, inasmuch as the oily 
part of the cream tnat is collected cannot be converted into curd, and is 
in too liquid a state to be retained, and consequently will either float off 
with the whey, or be expressed by the press.* Farther, milk as it comes 
from the cow has a peculiarly sweet flavor, which it soon loses by stand¬ 
ing, and so must be lost to the cheese. 
Milking. —The cows should be in the yard and milking commenced at 
a particular hour every night and morning, say six o’clock; if the time is 
much varied it injures the cows, and the quantities of milk will not be so 
regular. The milk is to be carried direct to the cheese tub and carefully 
strained into it. When the weather is moderate, the milk, as it comes 
from the cow, is in the proper state for coagulation; but if the weather is 
very hot, a pan of cold milk, saved for that purpose, maybe added; if cool, 
as much may be warmed as will bring the whole to the proper tempera¬ 
ture. 
The cheese tub should be large enough to contain seventeen or eighteen 
pails of milk, and have a cover properly fitted to it. 
The rack is laid across the tub to support the strainer, it needs no de¬ 
scription. 
The strainer should be large enough to allow a pail of milk to be empti¬ 
ed into it without danger of its flying over the edges. Those having fine 
wove brass wire soldered on the bottom, are most easily kept clean. 
Coloring. —(The milk being all in the tub, and having attended care¬ 
fully to my last remark on cleanliness,) take a piece of annatto, if good, a 
piece the size of a large pea is enough for a cheese of fifteen or sixteen 
pounds, spread it on the palm of the left hand, and rub it in the milk with 
the fingers of the other until it is dissolved. 
The rennet, or steep, is now added, and no more must be used than is 
just necessary to curdle the milk; on this greatly depends the quality anfi 
fiavoi of the cheese. The whole is to be stirred, that the coloring and 
rennet may be well mixed with the milk, and the cover put on until the 
coagulation has taken place. It is impossible to make good cheese with¬ 
out good rennet The method in which I have been most successful in 
obtaining it of the desired quality, is the following: Take the rennet or 
stomach of a calf, (that of one that has been well fatted and at least fom 
weeks old is best,) empty it of its contents, rinse it very slightly in cold 
water, put it on a plate with as much coarse salt as will preserve it, and 
let it lay for eight or nine days; put splinters of wood across it to keep it 
spread, and hang up to dry until wanted; it will improve by age. A few 
days before the steep is wanted, take one quart of soft water, add two 
handsful of salt, boil and let stand until cold; break your rennet in pieces, 
put into a jar and add the liquor, in two or three days it will be fit for use; 
strain, bottle and cork it. A good rennet treated in this way will make 
from twenty-five to thirty cheeses. And when the strength is ascertain¬ 
ed, it is easy to know the proper quantity required. 
Breaking curd _When the coagulation is completed, it is to be broke, 
that the serous part may be more easily separated, and is done in the fol¬ 
lowing manner: the hand is thrust to^he botlom and raised up through 
the curd, squeezing very gently those pieces that continue to adhere, con¬ 
tinuing until the whole has been completely broke. The process is easier 
done than described, and requires some practice to accomplish it well. If 
done too hurriedly, the whey will not come off so thin and clear as it will 
otherwise. It should stand a few minutes to settle, after which the whey 
is lifted off with as little disturbance to the curd as possible. 
* This observation may not ap.tly to American and other kinds of cheese; 
the process in making is materially different, but I am satisfied of its truth as 
regards the kind under consideration. 
Settling the cwd. —In performing this part, two or three persons may 
be engaged with advantage. The open hands of all employed are laid on 
the curd very lightly, at first shifting them seldom and with care; it will 
soon begin to harden under the hand, and a gradual increase of pressure 
becomes necessary. At this stage, if the weather is cold, it is sometimes 
proper to throw on a quantity of hot whey, to induce a greater degree 
of tenacity in the curd and accelerate the operation. When it has become 
sufficiently solid, the curd is to be cut in square pieces of three or four 
inches each, by running a knife several times through it at right angles, 
the tub is then raised on one side by placing a block of wood under it and 
the curd collected in a heap at the upper side of the tub, pressing with 
the open hands as before is then resumed, and continued until the whey 
nearly ceases to run off. As the whey that is afterwards collected is pre¬ 
served for another purpose, that which is now in the tub must be lifted 
out and passed through a cullender, to collect any detached pieces of the 
curd. 
To prepare for the vat or hoop.* —The curd is to be cut in the same 
manner as before, and the hoop placed on the rack over the tub; each 
person engaged then lifts from three to four pounds into a milk pan or 
other convenient vessel, putting to their respective quantities a large tea 
spoonful of fine salt, and one-fourth of a tea spoonful of salt petre, as much 
of the curd is then grasped between both hands as can be conveniently ta¬ 
ken, and with a quick firm squeeze, suffering it to pass through between the 
hands, is again returned to the vessel, continuing the operation until suf¬ 
ficiently done; it should be as fine as grains of wheat and lively to the 
touch. If overdone, it will become soft and pappy, and detract from the 
richness of the cheese; if not done enough, it will not press so well. It is 
put into the hoop, and the remainder treated in the same way. When 
the hoop becomes full it must be pressed down with the open hands, which 
should not be shifted until the cheese becomes solid under them, which 
it will soon do. It will be more convenient that the last prepared be 
pressed in the same manner in the vessel before putting it in the hoop, it 
will prevent its falling off.' When the whole has been pressed until it has 
become a solid mass, it is turned out of the hoop on a clean cloth, the 
hoop is rinsed in sweet whey, and the holes, if shut, opened; the cheese 
is lifted by the cloth and returned to the hoop, the ends of the cloth lap¬ 
ped neatly over the cheese, the follower put on and conveyed to the 
press. 
The white whey that has collected in the tub is to be passed through 
the cullender, anil may be fed to the calves,, if there are any rearing, in¬ 
stead of milk, or it may be set away, to cream for whey butter. It is 
treated exactly like milk intended for that purpose. 
The press ought to have a pressure of at least five or six hundred weight. 
Transverse pieces of wood, of about half an inch thick*should be fastened 
where the hoop is placed, that the whey may have free vent. The cheese 
is to remain in the press lor twelve hours; it is then taken out and pared 
if necessary, and as much fine salt rubed on it as will adhere, it is fur¬ 
nished with a clean cloth, reversed in the hoop, and retured to the press. 
It is treated in the same manner at the end of every twelve hours, until it 
has been forty-eight hours in press, except that at the last turning it is put 
in without a cloth, that it may come out smooth. When a new cheese is 
to be put in, the oldest made must always be placed upppermost. Two 
presses are necessary for a dairy of twpnty cows; there will always be two 
and frequently three cheeses in each. 
Cheese-room. —The most suitable place for the cheese-room is the cel¬ 
lar, if it be dry and airy. It should be impregnable to marauders, such as 
rats, mice, &c. The floor should be of smooth flat stone, well put toge¬ 
ther. Two windows are necessary, and it is desirable to have them face 
to the north and east, as south or west winds, if permitted to blow- up¬ 
on them, is apt to swell the cheeses. The windows should be secured 
on the out side with wove wire, and the shutters so constructed, that the 
current of air may be augmented or diminished at pleasure; revolving 
slats are very convenient. The shelves may be constructed according to 
the fancy of the owner, and for a dairy of twenty cows should be capable 
of containing three hundred cheeses. 
Management of cheese in the room.- —The cheeses are to be turned 
every day; the window shutters must be closed, and the room darkened 
through the day, unless in a rainy or damp time, and opened at night. In 
hot dry weather, the floor may be sprinkled once a day with cold water. 
If any of the cheeses (Yicline to swell, they are to be placed on the floor 
until they resume their natural shape. If mites become troublesome, the 
cheeses and shelves may be brushed off with a dry brush. A blue mould 
or coat is most desirable, and is to be encouraged. 
I have been more minute in my details of this business, knowing the 
difficulties that beginners are liable to encounter, and after all I have said, 
it will be found that experience is necessary to constitute the learner an 
adept in the art. It now remains that I give a short statement of the pro- 
* Two very convenient hoops may be made of a half bushel measure, by 
cutting it in the middle. The bottom should be fastened and perforated with 
a number of small holes, there should also be holes in the sides near the bot¬ 
tom; both larger and smaller sizes may be occasionally wanted. The follow¬ 
ers should fill tho hoop neatly, and yield easily to the pressure. 
