Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-10-14
CHEESE PROCESSES.
Introducing Starter. Adding the Kennel

A1EEOE G0OGGOOE0s
Introducing Starter. Adding the Rennet
and After.
If the test is made and the milk is
found to be working so slowly that it
will not be ready to set for more than
an hour after heating, starter may be
used to advantage. / have found that
by ripening milk more than an hour
there is considerable loss of butter fat
owing to the rising of the cream. The
stirring of the milk with the rake
churns portion of the milk into but
ter, and there is considerable loss of
butter fat III the whey.
A starter is small quantity of pure
sour milk, not too thick and free from
foul odors and impurities. The amount
of starter required will depend alto
gether upon the aeidity of the milk in
the vat and also the acidity of the start
er, and would only recommend it's use
in extreme cases.
In applying the rennet it should be
diluted with from to 8 quarts of cold
water to 1000 pounds of milk. The
amount of rennet used depends entirely
on the condition of the milk, the quail
ty of the rennet and the time of year.
For fast working curd would advise
the use of little more rennet, cutting
the curd earlier and cutting it finer.
Enough rennet should be used to CO.
agulate the milk sufficiently in from 85
to 40 minutes.
After the rennet has been added
thorough stirring is required for from
four to five minutes. The cream may be
kept down by floating dipper on the
top of the vat and pushing it from side
to side for a couple of minutes. When it
has been sufficiently stirred, the vat
should be covered and kept perfectly
still until fit to cut.
The time for cutting can best be de-
termined when the curd will break
clear over the inserted finger without
showing traces of milk Care should be
taken to cut the curd evenly, so that
the heating of it may be uniform.
When the curd is properly cut, it
should be gently stirred by hand to free
the sides and bottom of the vat from
the particles of curd. Heat should be
applied very gradually at first and in
creased. as the whey separates and the
curd becomes firmer, until it reaches SO
degrees. | would not advise heating a
fast working curd any higher than SO
degrees. If it is heated, say, 100 or I05,
the heat has such a softening effect, for
the time being, that the curd does not
dry sufficiently before the whey is dip
ped out, and it then mats together so
quickly that it will be impossible to
drain it as dry as though it had only
been heated to So degrees.
The curd should be kept stirred and
not allowed to mat until the acid has
developed enough to remove the whey.
For normal working curd the acid
should show about one quarter of an
inch on the hot iron test; for fast
working curd / would not allow acid to
develop quite quarter of an inch be-
fore dipping the whey The curd should
be well cooked, SO that when handful
of curd is pressed together it will fall
to pieces again. When this stage is
reached, the whey should be removed
and the curd hand stirred until it has
shorty appearance and will squeal be-
tween the teeth. Itshould then be piled
up half on each side of the vat and 4
about or 10 inches deep.
When sufficiently matted, it should
be cut in pieces about IL inches wide,
and replied every 90 or % minutes, to
free the pools Of whey,s and turned out
side inward, to keep it warm and heat
uniform throughout the curd The heat
should be kept as near the original tenn
perature as possible. until there is a
sufficient development of acid. This
can be done by keeping two or three
pals of hot water in the vat at one end.
When the acid has developed suffi-
GENTLY to show / u to 2 inches on the
hot iron test, or when it has assumed a
silky or velvety appearance, it is ready
for the salt. The milling should be done
20 or 30 minutes before the salt is add
ed, and the curd well aired, to reduce
the temperature to 80 degrees before the
salt is added. As soon as the salt has
dissolved and the curd is back to its
velvety appearance again it is ready for
the press. A very moderate pressure
should be applied at first and the force
gradually increased. If the pressure is
too heavy at the first, there will be
considerable loss Of fat. When the curd
has been in press an hour, it should be |
taken out and the hoops removed and |
the bandages fixed neatly on it to
make the cheese look as tidy as posi-
BILE. 1t should also be turned end for |
end in the hoops the first thing the fol- |
lowing morning to improve the appear
ance. The cheese should receive from
30 to "a hours pressure, after which it |
may be removed to the curing room.
just few brief points on the care of |
the curing room, which is very i'm
portant point and is very often neglect |
ed. The room should be kept clean and |
sweet with as much pure, cool air as
possible, in order to secure the best re- |
suits. The temperature of the room |
should be kept as even as possible. /
About IS degrees is best The room
should be neither too damp nor too dry. |
If too dry, the cheeses are liable to crack |
under the bandage or on the ends, for
green cheese contains about 80 per cent
of water. SO if the atmosphere il too |
dry in the room, the cheeses will lose
moisture rapidly and cracking is the re-
suit. If the room is dry, cold water /
may be sprinkled around the floor, which I
will help to keep the room cool. If the
room is too moist, the cheeses are liable
to mold and this will soon spoil their
appearance.
The cheeses should be turned and I
wiped on the shelves every day. The
shelves should be made of good, clean
pine about ID inches thick. and we'll |
supported. The shelves should be a lit
tie wider than the cheeses, SO that they /
will not project over the edge.
If they are allowed to project over
the edge, it will very soon spoil their