The Florida agriculturist., 1908-01-01

as if cheese making on small scale
on the farm would be prohtable; and it
would really be cheese probably, in
contradistinction to the kind retai1ed
in our stores; cheese with tang to it;
cheese not leathery; in fact, cream
cheese and not the product of skinned
milk
Not long ago a writer in the Journal
Of Agriculture, who has been making
cheese for thirty-fve years, gave some
interesting information on the subject
Under the title given above. Of course
the proper equipments are necessary,
and the virtue of cleanliness is to be
prominent feature; first of all, he says,
a good vat should be provided, and he
tells of one lady who used a bath tub
for that purpose The curd could not
help getting some of the impurities
should be of size to fit the milk sup
ply; made of wood and lined with tin,
and kept clean. A farmers wife need
not purchase those made of iron lined
with white enamel to be had at the
dairy supply establishments, though, of
course, if one can be afforded, so much
the better as they are easier kept clean.
The press is, of course, a necessity.
They are found in the markets of all
sizes and at all prices. But the writer
Of the article had one of his own make,
Of pine wood, AKA, twelve feet long,
making lever with heavy weight at
the long end. Bolt this with one bolt
to a post or studding in the cheese
room, just high enough so that when it
is horizontal it will pass over the lid
of the hoop about three feet from the
place where it is bo1ted to the wall.
This will leave about nine feet from
the top of the hoop to the end where
the weights are to be attached. This
will give leverage sufficient so that
when bucket of rocks is hung on it it
will do the pressing admirably. A
number Of hoops are desirable, ten
inches in diameter and eight feet deep
is desirable size, made of tin with
reinforced edges at top and bottom
A large clothes basket lined with
drainer cloth, few yards of cheese
cloth and a thermometer, and-there
you are, if in small building, con-
structed for the purpose, all ready for
cheese making
Good, fresh milk, of course, all from
one milking if possible; some mix, but
this cheese maker confesses he never
made good cheese using two mixings
Half dozen good milk COWS will give
enough at one milking to make one or
two average sized farm cheeses. Never
milk the COWS in the COW lot or barn,
when intended for use in cheese max
ing. The air is tainted and sure to
contamlnate the precious 1actea1 fluid
Take the COWS out under the orange
or pome1o trees, where the air is pure
and free from odor. It pays to be clean.
The purer the milk when curded, the
better the flavor of the cheese; some
have no flavor, some an undesirable
one; make it your ambition to have the
right flavor and there will be no trouble
to dispose of what is not needed for
home use.
If "co1oring' is needed, teaspoon
tul to sixteen gallons is all that is re-
CURED, but mix first in about one gal
lon and, later, with the rest of the milk.
then to the vat Add rennet, one ounce
to twelve gallons; get the extract from
reliable druggist; some use rennet
tablets, one to each five gallons, first
dlssolving the tablet in a pint of cold
water, adding the contents little at
time and rapidly stirring the milk dur
ing the process. Here comes in the
thermometer. Temperature not below
80 degrees or above 90; curd should
form within fifteen minutes. Test #
for cutting by lifting a bit out of the
mass with your fingers; if it breaks.
leaving no particle on the fingers, it is
ready to cut. After cutting, stir the