The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-11-24
FARMER AND PLANTER
CHEESE DAIRYING.
An Industry That is Much Neglected by
Southern Farmers.


An Industry That is Much Neglected by
Southern Farmers.
l was brought up in dairy section
In the. moth, and when boy, on my
mothers table, plate of cheese was as
common as plate of bread, three
times day the year round. 1t was
palatable, healthful, and as we made
1t ourselves, it was not considered ex-
pensive. My greatest disappointment
on migrating south was the high prices
and scarcity of all dairy products.
Condensed milk, whew. New milk ten
cents per quart; butter forty cents per
pound, and cheese twenty cents per
pound, were prices to me unpre-
cedented, and even at those
prices a. good article was not al.
ways obtainable. This condition of
things set me thinking, yes, and study
ing over the matter, and have studied
1T over until things are changed at our
house, and we now have cheese on our
table as in olden times. Yes, and plen-
ty of milk and butter, and some to
spare.
We have made butter both for home
use and some to sell for some time, but
have made no cheese till this season,
but find it much more profitable during
the warmest weather to make cheese.
The same amount of milk that will
make one pound of butter will make
three pounds of cheese, and in warm
weather there is much more difference
in favor of cheese. Then it is almost
Il. -,
good condition, while cheese is prime.
We commenced making cheese early in
July last, and when the first cheese
was three weeks old it was ushered on
to the table, and verify pronounced
good, and all that have bought or
tasted of our cheese have pronounced
them good; and we are well pleased
with the enterprise. So l propose to
give my method of making cheese. and
any family with few cows can make
heir own cheese, and think the time
will soon come when there will be
good dairies and cheese factories es-
tablished in the south. In the first
place, everything must be kept scru-
pulously sweet and clean about the
milk, and vessels containing it.
As we had but few cows, and being
entirely destitute of all cheese appara-
tus, l took a fifty-pound tin lard tub
for cheese tub, and large dish pan
for warming and scalding vessel.
The milk at night is strained into
pans and cooled, so that it will be per-
fectly sweet in the morning, when the
thickest of the cream may be taken off
for butter, as it would be partially
wasted if not; then put the milk into
the tub and set into the dish pan of hot
water to warm the milk, having the
nights milk warm at the time the
mornings milk is ready to strain,
which we then strain into the tub with
the nights milk, and put in immediate
ly enough rennent water, or extract of
rennet, to coagulate or curdle the
milk in from ten to twenty minutes.
When the curd is sufficiently hard, cut
it carefully with long knife into
checks one-half to three-fourtbs of
an inch square, and let stand till the
whey begins to appear in the knife
marks; then add hot water to the dish
pan to scald the curd, and cut and stir
the curd continually till it is about as
fine as kernels of corn, and is scalded
until you can take handful of the
curd and squeeze it in the hand, and it
will pack together instead of running
ont between the fingers. Then dip or
pour off the whey and let the curd cool
off, and salt sufficiently to be good to
eat. If tie weather is very warm it
should be scalded and sailed more
than later IN the season. 1t is then
ready for the press. Any questions
relative to cheese making and taking
care of them, and the cure of rennets,
etc, will answer if desired. Cor
Farm and Ranch.