News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-06-07
Domestic Cheese Making

Some families desire to make the
cheese for family use. 1t is true cheese
cannot be made of such uniform texture
and quality as where all the appl ances
are tft-Aatsts-
factory. Nevertheless, by using care, a
| better cheese may be made than is usu-
ally found in country stores. The very
best rennet must be used, and proper
attention be paid to the temperature of
the milk during the process of manufac-
turing. The rennet (the fourth stomach
of calf, before it has eaten grass should
be at least six months old-one year is
better-and must have been kept per-
fectly dry. Put good sound rennet in
gallon crock containing three quarts of
warm water, teacup full of salt, and if
handful of sage leaves are added it will
give delicate sage flavor to the cheese
Soak three days, or until IA teaspoonful of
the rennet extract stirred in teacupful
of milk will curdle it in fifteen m nutes.
The strength is then right. Then take
out the rennet, dry again thoroughly,
and it will then do to soak again with a
fresh rennet. Strain off the liquid ex-
tract into bottles, tightly corked, and
keep in as cool place as possible.
To make whole milk cheese, strain
the milk in clean tin boiler, setting it
on the range, where it will remain at
near blood heat, or say So degrees. Stir
in gill of the liquid rennet to sixty
pounds thirty Quarts) of milk. Stir
until thoroughly mixed. Let it stand
for twenty minutes, or until curdled :;
the curd should be ready for cutting by
that time. Cut in squares, so the whey
may separate from the curd; heat
gradually to not over So degrees, let
stand till the whey rises to the top of
curd, then break the curd in pieces with
the hand, carefully, so as not to start
the white whey, and thus lose some of
the richness of the cheese. When the
curd is pretty well broken-do not
hurry this operation, break up very
gently-raise the temperature by a
gradual heat till the curd is scalded
sufficiently, not over ITO degrees then
dip into muslin strainer, laid over a
rack; or spread over a good sized
market basket, so as to allow the whey
to drain from the curd: The curd
must be cut fine and worked all the time
it is heating, so it will not adhere to-
gether. When the whey is drained off,
salt and put curd Immediately to pre- IS.
This pressure should be gradually in
creased.
If one has not sufficient milk to make
to cheese at one setting, the curd from
the first lot can be hung away in cool
place before sailing, and remain until
the next batch is ready for scalding
then it can be cut fine and added to the
fresh curd when it is being scalded, and
treated the same as if freshly made. 1t
is much more work to make cheese from
this double curd process than from one
setting, and liable to less successful
result.
The curd may be sailed at the rate of
near half an ounce of salt to each pound,
say three ounces to six or seven pounds.
This sailing is not so much for fiavoring
as to check the tendency to putrefactive
formation. The saline taste in old cheese
is due not so much to the salt used as to
the formation of ammOniacal salts in the
process of REFRESHING. The pressure on
the cheese in the press must be regulated
by circumstances up to 1900 to 1000
pounds.
When the cheese is taken from the
press it should be bandaged with cheese
cloth to keep it from spreading. The
temperature of the curing room should
be about "a degrees. The higher the
temperature the quicker the ripening.
Turn every day, greasing with whey but
ter as occasion may require, to prevent
cracking, or in lieu of this with I'M
sailed butter. After the cheese becomes
firm, turn only as occasion MY require
the ripening pro ,ess requiring two or
three months. -F'rm, Fieid and StOck-
man.