The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1896-04-16
CHEESE MAKING IN OHIO.

In Une early days before the ADVENT
of the factory system, all the cheese
was made on the farm and known as
dairy cheese.
Under those conditions, with a null
tituie of makers, every one working to
his own ideal, the make of cheese did
not run as even as it does now under
the factory system, but l believe the
average of quality was higher.
. in the early days the dairyman made
You will frequently hear the older peo-
pie say that they can not get any such
cheese as they used to get.
Forty years ago it was not uncom-
mon for dairyman to keep his whole
seasons make of cheese until autumn
aad sell it all at once. The consum-
ers did not then object to well cured
cheese, even when it would bite back
a little, if it were only soft and rich.
But with our increasing German
population and gradual change in
the taste of many of our native con-
sinners came demand for soft and
mild cheese, one with very little or no
flavor. Its lack of flavor was no objec-
tion, but it must have no bad flavor.
The advent of the cheese factory and
the centralization of the trade in
few hands, and the fact that our sur
plus cheese had to seek a market in
Europe, led our cheese makers to adopt
a system of making that would give
them a more even grade, if not SO high
quality for the home trade; a cheese
that would bear handling and ship
ping an indefinite distance with inn
punity.
All of the country and much of the
city trade of Ohio and Indiana still de-
mand a soft, rich, mild, open cheese.
The time has come when if we wish to
redeem the old-time country trade, we
must give them what they want even
though it be not the best as judged by
the English standard.
For nearly twenty years have been
trying to educate my trade to better
cheese, and have to a limited extent,
though my better cheese is not what
would be called fine. as judged by the
Wisconsin standard.
The different dairy sections vary
very much in the character of their
make Northwestern Ohio makes
soft, mild cheese, quite open, that /
have found very hard competitor
when 1 got within its territory, but
they are not cheese that will bear
great deal of handling or shipping
very long distance. even one hundred
miles will use them up in hot weather.
The Wellington district mas changed
its style OF make during the past s5
years, and now makes a much finer
and closer cheese, one that in meas
ure might be called medium cheese,
one that will bear shipping well. Some
30 years ago, when the use of the skim
mer was at its height and thousands of
boxes were being sent to England,
people apOwed that they would make
good cart wheels, and others that they
would answer for grindstones. II al
ways doubted these statements, how
,ever).
The eastern section makes a cheese
more nearly after the New York style,
a close. compact, meaty cheese. In
fact, many so-called New York cheese
sold in Ohio were born on Buckeye
soil.
/ am we'll aware that your in
structor, Professor Noyes, will dis
agree with me ON the subject. in fact /
disagree with myself. Personally, l
prefer moderately close made, solid,
rich cheese, one that will require forty
to sixty days to properly cure, one that
when properly cured will seem much
like lump of hard butter when taken
into the mouth.
But it is not question of likes and
dislikes. Those who go into the dairy
business are in it for the money and to
get it they must make what their
trade demands, whether it be a soft,
open cheese that will cure in Is to 20
days, and can be eaten like bread, or
whether it be the solid, compact Ched-
dar, suitable for the English market,
that requires 60 days to cure and will
be equally good at six months.
But better than either of these for
the Ohio trade is the medium-a cheese
that will cure in 20 to 40 days, suffi-
ciently close and firm to bear handling
and shipping well, yet open enough to
compromise with those who demand a
porous cheese.
Those of you who go from here to
make cheese for Ohio trade will find it
TO your advantage to use the modified
Cheddar process or to even modify that
somewhat.
have not referred to skim cheese,
because 1 do not believe the skinner
should ever be seen inside a cheese
factory When began for myself
followed in the footsteps of other
dairymen and with perforated skim
mer removed the cream from the
nights milk during April, May, and
sometimes a part of June if the wealth.
er was cool, then again in September,
October and November, or as late as we
mad. cheese. The cream was churned
sweet and the butter milk returned to
the cheese w.t. This custom was al
most uaive:sal twenty-five or thirty
years ago. 1t was generally taught
and / believed it, that it was i'm
possible to work the cream into
the cheese after it had once separated,
especially if it was very thick. Many
cheese makers to-day say that the
cream once separated goes off into
the whey. Very soon l began some e8-
periments on my own account, and be-
came thoroughly satisfied that ought
not to skim at all, that it did not pay
to make both butter and cheese from
the same milk, and that it was possible
to work all, or practically all, the
cream that had raised on the nights
milk into the cheese. Not only this-I
found by experiments that a large
amount of cream could be added to
whole milk and be worked with reason
able safety. The amount of cheese OBJ.
saiaed from the milk is much larger
than in the ordinary way of working,
To the energetic and ambitious
young dairyman there is now open a
Inc of dairy work that believe to be
very promising in financial way. 1
refer 10 the fancy or soft French
cheeses. These include the ''Neuf-
chatel," "fromage lie creme" and sew
eral styles known under the general
name of brick cheese. There is quite
a large and growing demand for these
fancy cheeses in ala the larger cities