The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1888-07-12

care being taken not to bruise it. After
being thoroughly dried the rennet is
| laid away for future use. In making
| the liquid rennet the first time use one
| dried rennet to each gallon of water.
Use pure spring or well water, adding
| enough good dairy salt to make brine of
| moderate strength, to keep from spoil
| ing. The first time it is best to make
but a small quantity of rennet, so that
| thereafter whey from the cheese vat can
be used in preparing the liquid rennet.
So made it Keeps much sweeter and bet
ter than when water is used. After
soaking the rennetS three or four days
draw the rennetS singly through the
clenched hand. to get the strength and
substance out as much as possible, put
ting them into another jar or suitable
vessel for second soaking for a fresh
lot, adding to them two or three dried
ones, and pouring over all five or six
gallons of fresh whey, adding salt, to
brine, as before. The liquid rennet in
the first vessel is used as wanted while
| that in the second is in course of pre-
parati0n.
In making cheese, as soon as it is seen
| that firm curd has formed cut into
small strips by drawing a manipulated
| curd knife back and forth through the
vat, and across, reaching to the bottom.
When this is done the curd stands cut
into small cubical columns, which must
| be toppled or turned by hand and curd
knife again used, cutting the curd into
fine bits. 1t is then stirred gently with
| the hands to make the whey separate
more freely, until the curd is somewhat
| shrunken and firm. when the curd rake
| is brought into use. AS soon as curd
| is cut the temperature should be raised
/ NM 70 1Hl 1anraAc o,a1 haI
at that point, in no case going even 101
or 102, unless slight acidity is noticed
in the milk, otherwise the product will
| turn out tough and leathery, having all
the appearance and taste of skim milk
cheese. Usually several hours are re-
| quired to properly cook the curd, all the
time keeping the temperature at 100.
| To tell when the curd is properly cooked
one of several tests best understood by
cheese makers may be tried. A simple
test. easily acquired and generally used,
is the slight rubbing of a small bit of
curG well pressed together in the hand,
on an iron bar hot enough to slightly
scorch the curd, which if cooked enough
will, when applied to the bar and gradu-
ally withdrawn, cause a large number
of fine spidery-looking threads to be
spun out. Too much rennet put into
1
effect as heatin1 to too high tempera-
ture. This no Goubt is. one reason why
SO much cheese of inferior quality finds
| its way to market. Too often careless
ness or the want of practical sense in
! the cheeSe-maker gives him a Skim-milk
reputation, and Skim-milk price for
| his products. No whey is Withdrawn
until the curd is well cooked, stirring
| by hand. When the whey is mostly
run off begin to work by hand the
| broken and shrinking curd, continually
while cooling. After the whey is all off
withdraw the hot water from the tank
bOneath the vat and fill with cold water,
10 assist in cooling the the curd to 75
degrees, usually requiring half an hour
then add ine pure dairy salt, 2H pounds
to each Il 20 pounds of milk used, mix
| ing in quickly and thoroughly by hand,
and put to press at 70 degrees, as near
as possible, as this gives greater free
dom to any whey remaining. Leave in
press an hour or two while the cheese
vat is being scalded and cleaned and the
| floor of the milk room scrubbed and
washed. Then take cheese from press,
put on cheese cloth, turn and return and
return to press, put on proper pressure
and let remain until next day, when
they are to be taken out, and, after
greaSing the ends with a mixture of
lard and old but not rancid butter,
arrange on shelves in the curing room.
TO CURE CHEESE.
The cheese room should have fair
ventilation, be kept darkened, and the
temperature as near ~ degrees as is con-
venient. Each cheese should be exam
ined carefully every day, and if there is
any sign of mold, or of cracks, or dry
ness from shrinkage, apply the lard and
butter mixture and rub well, and turn
before replacing on shelf. 1t is best to
rub the ends of the cheese every day
until they are week or two old, then
once every two or three days, turning
them over each time. Care being taken
as directed, and the curing room being
kept dry enough, there is little danger
of mold. If properly cared for four to
six weeks curing is sufficient to prepare
for market. At six weeks old cheese
should ordinarily be at its best, but this
is of course according to taste, as some
palates prefer it six months to a year
old. AS the old saying is, there is no
accounting for tastes. As to the
EXTENT oF THE CHEESE PRODUCT,
The most made from a single dairy is at
the West factory. Connected with this
dairy there are seventy-five cows, fifty
six of the number now in milking con-
dition, yielding about 900 pounds of
milk daily and producing ninety to
ninety-five pounds of cheese ready for
the curing room. Mr.. West and one of
his sons do the work at the factory, and
turn out first-class cheese. And this
may be said of all three factories in
operation.
Mr.. Butterfield owns a dairy herd of
forty choice cows, thirty-four of them
now in milk, producing about seventy
pounds of cheese daily, usually made by
himself; but at the time of the writer's
visit the work was being done by young
Mr.. West, who, as stated, had charge
early in the season at Carnahan'S fac
tory, which produces the largest cheese
product, but uses the milk from several
dairies, that of Mr.. Morrison contribu-
ting forty-three gallons daily; Carna-
han, sixty-five gallons; Mr.. Tagg, in
charge of the Calender place, fifty gal
Ions; and Mr.. Stafford, renting the farm
belonging to the Goodwin estate. TWEEN
ty-seven gallons, being the mornings
milk from his dairy, the evenings milk
being made into butter for the Astoria
market.
Mr., Carnahan submitted an interest
ing statement OF cost and profits of
cheese-making for the season of 1881.
extending from May % to August IA
OF the 5666 gallons used, Mr.. Morrison
furnished 2057 and Mr.. Carnahan 1909
gallons, from twenty-four cows. The
5666 gallons of milk used produced 4439
pounds of cured cheese.
ITEMS.
Value of 4iS9 lbs cheese at 1872 cents