The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-01-02
Making Limhnrger Cheese.


The famous Limburger cheese, which
our German fellow citizens so much
admire, but which Americans say has a
rank taste, is now manufactured to a
great extent in Northern New York.
A reporter of the Rural Neto Yorker has
visited n factory in jefferson Co., where
this cheese is made and describes the
! operation rs follows: We visited one of
the factories of MIR. Baltz situated in
the town of PAMELA, Jefferson Co., N.
Y, few miles from the city of Water
town. This is perhaps one of the most
complete establishments of the kind in
this country. The cellar alone cost over
$4,000, and is excavated out of the lime
rock, the top being arched with stone.
The arch is eighteen feet from the solid
limestone bottom. The dimensions are
100 feet by 20 feet. Here the cheese are
packed and stored until ready for ship
ment. The manufacturing department
is constructed in similar manner, but
is smaller in size. The milk of about
two hundred cows comes to the factory,
and cheese is made twice day-morn-
ing and evening. AS soon as the milk is
delivered it is strained in the vat and
raised to a temperature of 96" Fahren-
heit, when rennet is added sufficient to
coagulate the mass in about 80 minutes.
The coagulated milk is then cut cross
wise of the vat with gang of steel curd
knives, and in about five minutes after
it is cut lengthwise of the vat. 1t then
stands few minutes, when it is worked
with two tin shovels, made slightly con-
cave. They are about 13 inches wide by
9 inches broad, with rounded corners.
The shovels are worked, one in each
hand, and the curds gently turned and
cut for the space of three minutes, when
it is left at rest for about five minutes,
and the shovels again used for three
minutes, and SO alternately for an hour.
After the mass has been left at rest from
ten to fifteen minutes for the whey to
settle, and if the curd is of the proper
texture and consistency, which is deter
mined by its appearance and feeling,
the whey is begun to be removed. For
this purpose a deep, pan-like vessel,
pierced with holes, is used. 1t is pushed
down into the mass, and the whey how-
ing through the holes fills the vessel
and is then dipped off. About two
thirds of the whey is thus removed,
when that which remains is left to be
mingled with the curds which are now
ready for the molds. The molds are
feet 4 inches long, 81 inches wide by y
inches deep (measured on the outside
and including the thickness of the boards
of which they are made), and are divided
up with partitions so as to make five
cheeses, each five inches square. The
molds are pierced with holes u inche:
apart for the whey to escape, and wher
the whey has passed off and the curds
settled together the cheese will be about
inches thick.
The curds, mingled with whcy, are
dipped into the molds, each cempart
ment being filled, when they go upo1
the table to drain after standing about
eight or ten minutes, they are turned
bottom-sIde-up, the square forms o
cheese resting on rye straw, which il
spread thinly on the table to facilitat,
drainage. In this condition, or with III,
molds still covering the cheese, they re
main three-quarters of an hour, whe1
the mold is taken off and the cheese laiC
upon the table with strips of board sep
, arating the cheese, the one from tn
other, in order to preserve the form. Th
cheese are now about two and a-hal
inches to three inches thick, and the ia
bles are slightly inclined, so as to facili
tate drainage of whey. After standin.
upon the tables two hours they are turn
, ed over and remain from three to fou
| hours, when they are turned again, an,
in three or four hours turned for th
: third and last time in this part of tn
process.
They then go to the salt table, wher
they are salted morning and evening 70
four days. In applying the salt it i
rubbed with the hand on the edges an,
top side only of the cheese, and PLACED
in tiers two or three cheeses deep. Tha
is, on the second day as they are salted
they are put two cheeses deep, and o,
the third day three cheeses deep, and S
on until the sailing is completed. The,
then so to the curing-room, and are t
be set on edge and are placed close to
gether.