Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-05-27
CHEESE.
Expert Views ON Rennet. Curd Making
and Pressing.

Expert Views ON Rennet. Curd Making
and Pressing.
Some of the valuable talks at the
Michigan dairy convention were on the
subject of cheesemaking, from the rem
net stage up to the sailing, hopping and
finishing off.
Mr.. Myers Sine's method with rem
net is this:
He dilutes the rennet extract with
warm water before adding it to the milk,
using about pint of water to q ounces
of rennet extract He first heats the milk
to Sc degrees or IS degrees, according
to its richness. Before adding the rem
net he shuts off the steam and draws
the water from under the vat. If the
milk is not sufficiently ripened, he al
lows it to stand from 5 to l 8 minutes,
or sometimes he uses a starter. He now
adds the rennet, using from ~ to 80
ounces of extract to 1000 pounds of
milk, varying according to the richness
of the milk or the season of the year.
The richer the milk the more rennet is
needed He then begins agitating the
milk, at the bottom of the vat first,
and gradually works toward the top,
continuing the agitation until the rem
net has done its work. This prevents
the loss of cream, which would other
wise run off with the whey.
Next came paper by Mr.. B. E. Pee
bles of Fairfield on Cutting and Cook
ing the Curd. -
s~&xv .focy flor 10
ton has taken place, if the curd is lift
ed on the finger it will break squarely
off, as though cut with a knife. This is
the time to use the knife. First use the
perpendicular knife. cutting lengthwise
of the vat, carrying the knife pitched a
little forward, so as to cause the curd
to run under instead of up the knife.
Too much care cannot be exercised to
cut evenly, and not leave wide strips be-
tween the cuttings. IN eight or ten min
utes the whey will begin to start, when
the curd should be cut crosswise with
the same care 1t should then be allow
ed to stand until the curd settles and
the whey becomes spotted on top, when
it should be cut lengthwise with the
horizontal Kn1Ie.
1t is now ready to turn on the steam
and commence stirring with the hands
slowly and carefully SO as not to mash
the curd. If the milk is all right, from
/ - to 2 hours will be sufficient to cook
the curd. When the heat has run up to
80 degrees, it should be shut off and the
stirring continued eight or ten minutes
longer, then the perpendicular knife
again used to cut the curd up fine.
Steam should now be turned on again
and the stirring with the hands contin-
ned until the curd is free from packing,
when the rake may be used, taking care
to use it lengthwise and not to jam the
curd against the sides of the vat. The
heat should be run up to 102 degrees
and held there until the curd is cooked,
which is told by the feeling and its
readiness to separate when pressed in
the hands. The heat should now be run
up to 104 degrees and the curd then
dipped Immediately into the drainer and
sailed.
Mr.. B. G. Martin then took up the
tale and continued thus:
Before dipping the curd should be
quite fine in the whey. If everything is
working well and rapidly, the whey
may be drawn off early and the curd
hardened in the vat By doing this there
is less likelihood of having white
whey. Sailing the curd depends upon
its condition. If it is a little wet, more
salt is needed If it is just about right,
2 pounds of salt to 100 pounds of curd
is sufficient. Let the curd lie few min
utes, then stir it again, thus getting the
salt evenly distributed. In hopping,
place the hoops on the press, have the
press cloths washed out in hot water and
spread ON the top of the hoop. Place a
bandage on the filler and press filler and
bandage and press the cloth down into
the hoop. Then put i'll the curd. Wiring
out a press cloth and place it on top of the
curd, together with the rubber ring and
follower and place it in the press and
4zrn on the pressure until the whey
ceases to run. Tighten them down and
let them stand 90 or 30 minutes, then
take it out and see that everything is
all right. If not, put ON some hot water
and spread the press cloth out smooth
and even, turn the cheese over. tighten
down the screws as tight as can be done
with two foot lever and leave over
night.