HINTS ON CHEESE-MAKING TEXT

But if the milk should give any indication of being old, we would begin at once to gradually raise the heat; if quite old and changed, we would crowd the heat as fast as practicable. To sum up in brief, we would cut a curd and complete the cutting as soon as it can be done without waste; we would cut it as expeditiously as possible and with as few motions; we would cut it as fine as care against waste would warrant; we would raise the heat as gradually and evenly as circumstances would permit; we would cook as thoroughly and as evenly as possible; we would keep up the heat until the curd is done; we would then let the acid develop in the whey until it is plainly changed; we would dip as warm as convenient, drain and salt, cool to at least 80°, and then put to press. With good milk, good rennet and a good place to cure the cheese in, we should expect in this way to turn out a tip-top article. CHAPTER XV. HEAT. One of the most important elements in cheese-making is heat; but we do not believe the importance of its proper regulation is sufficiently understood by our cheese-makers. We are aware that cheese can be made without the use of artificial heat. It is not such an article, however, as would meet with a ready sale, or be likely to increase the consumptive demand for cheese. A good-keeping, mild and nutty-flavored cheese cannot readily be produced, if at all, with a temperature lower than 96°; nor can a rich, buttery article be made with a temperature over 102°. We consider 6° the widest allowable range of heat, and think 98° to 100°, or full blood-heat, the best temperature. Evenness and steadiness of temperature are two important points. That apparatus is best which heats the milk throughout the vat the most evenly--leaves it the freest from hot places and cold places, at the sides, ends, or on the bottom. A perfect apparatus would raise the temperature of every particle of milk at the same time and at the same rate; and retain this perfectly even heat at the desired point until the cooking is completed. The difficulty, with most or all heating apparatus, is to raise the heat of the entire mass to the required temperature, without submitting some particles to a greater degree of heat than is necessary, or heating them in advance of the rest, to be stirred in and partially cooled again. We believe that an even cook or scald is of the utmost importance, and that everything that can be should be done to secure that end. If thoroughly accomplished, with sweet milk to begin with, we have no fears as to the richness, fine flavor and good keeping qualities of the cheese. There is no other thing, in our opinion, which will go so far toward securing these three desirable qualities. Another thing, as before indicated, we consider of great importance in securing a thorough cooking and proper separation of the whey from the curd. We refer to steadiness of temperature. It seems to us a great mistake, when the temperature is once up, to not keep it there, without rising or lowering. It seems a misapplication of terms to speak of cooking or scalding at a temperature of 98 or 100 degrees; yet, we all know that blood-heat is all that is required for cheese-making. This heat seems necessary. Perhaps it is because nature designed the gastric juice from the rennet to operate at the temperature. It is a well established fact that digestion will not go on when the temperature of the stomach is below that of blood-heat. We presume a much higher temperature is equally detrimental. This may account for the fact that blood-heat is the best for cheese-making, as at that temperature the rennet is most active. Be this as it may, we are satisfied that the process is retarded and the curd deteriorated by allowing the temperature to fall during the time it is in the scald. Instead of cooking, and condensing, as it should, in order to expel the whey, it is only soaking and souring. The moment the acid is sufficiently developed, though the curd be yet soft and raw, the whey is drawn, the curd is further cooled and soaked, and then dipped, drained, salted and put to press. A leaky cheese is the result. If the weather is cool and bad for curing, a sour cheese follows. But whatever the weather may be, we doubt if a leaky cheese ever yet turned out all right in flavor and quality. It can never have that nutty, new-milk flavor which belongs to cheese properly cooked. We presume there are those who will differ with us in opinion, but we should demand the positive evidence of at least four senses before believing we are wrong. We say, therefore, raise your temperature gradually and evenly, to full blood-heat, and there retain it until your curd is ready to dip. Then we believe it would be an advantage to dip and drain, without cooling more than what cannot be avoided, and salt warm. But of salting, we will speak more at length some other time. We are now discussing the question of heat. Let us give a little every-day illustration. Suppose the housewife were to put her potatoes for dinner in a kettle of water, run the heat up to 212°, and then allow it to cool by radiation until the potatoes are done. What kind of a dish would they make? Or, after she had cooked her potatoes, suppose she should let them stand and soak until they are cool enough to handle without danger of burning or scalding any one. Who would want to eat the watery things? The truth is, 212° is the proper temperature for boiling potatoes, and the sooner and hotter you can get them out of the water, the better. So, in our opinion, blood-heat, or 98° to 100°, is the proper temperature for cooking cheese curd, and that after the curd is done, the sooner and warmer it is dipped, the better for the curd--the sweeter, richer-flavored and better grained (not pasty, but more of the consistency of hard, well-made butter, which shows the batter globules whole) will be the cheese, and its keeping qualities will be correspondingly improved. It may be a little more work to cool the curd in the air, and harder keeping it from packing; but if dipped warm, the whey will the sooner drain off, and the salt can be the sooner thrown on, when it will penetrate quicker, season the mass more evenly, and form a coating to the particles of curd, which will keep them from packing together. But whether the curd is cooled before dipping or not, we maintain that it is a great advantage to keep the temperature up to blood-heat during the entire process after the heat is once raised. With self-heating apparatus, this can be done by keeping a very little fire going--just enough to supply the loss of heat from radiation. Where the heating is done by running warm water around the milk-vat, a current of the proper temperature can be kept up. If steam is used, perhaps a small jet can be kept pouring into the space around the vat. But in all these cases, the danger is that too high a temperature will have to be kept up at the point of applying the heat, in order to prevent the temperature of the whole mass from falling. This is a decided objection, and necessitates a great deal of stirring, which is only a palliative of and not a remedy for the evil. Of course we write with reference to the management of heat with milk that is sweet and in proper condition for cheese-making. Where it is "old," or tainted, to begin with, it is necessary to hurry the heat, and every operation connected with the process of making it up. A higher temperature and less time will be found to produce a very similar effect to a lower temperature and more time. But, in all cases, an even, steady heat should be aimed at and maintained to the end. We never could quite understand the philosophy of cooking less in the spring and fall than in the summer. The idea that it makes the cheese more buttery to dip the curd raw, seems to us very absurd. If there is any time when a curd needs to be thoroughly cooked, it is when the weather is cool and unfavorable for curing. If the whey is not properly expelled by the action of heat, it has got to either dry out or leak out, or both. If there is too much left in the curd to dry out, long before it can leak out, your cheese will be sour, with a puckered face, and sundry ugly cracks. Even when the cheese does not absolutely drip, if the curd is dipped while underdone, it will sour, the face will have a corrugated appearance, and the cheese will "try" crumbly and sour. The color will also be paler than in those that are properly cooked, the general look will be clammy, and no rind will form that will be satisfactory. Even when well-cooked and well-made, if a cheese does not have sufficient warmth, it will sour on the ranges and spoil; and it stands to reason that cheese made from a curd insufficiently cooked must work a great deal worse under unfavorable conditions for curing. Our experience is, that a curd needs more cooking in the spring and fall than will answer in hot, dry weather. If we must have a curd dipped soft at any season of the year, we say let it be at that season when the weather is best for drying and curing. A cheese that would become worthless on the ranges in cold, wet weather, may turn out pretty fair in "dog days." But we do not believe in undercooking at any time. Food, of all kinds, needs as much cooking one season of the year as another. It is quite likely, however, that a degree or two lower heat will answer in cool weather, for the reason that milk keeps better then, and the curd remains longer in the scald before taking on acid. In this case, we have a lower heat for a longer time, which will produce the same result as a higher heat for a shorter time. But in both cases the curd ought to be cooked the same. Whatever degree of heat is decided upon, let it be kept up, steady and uniform throughout the mass, and at all seasons of the year let the curd be cooked done. This is specially important when the conditions for curing are unfavorable. You must do, then, in the vat part of the work which can be done on the ranges when the weather is favorable. CHAPTER XVI. ACID. Another important agent in cheese-making is acid. This you are pretty sure to have, at some stage of the process, and the chief question seems to be as to _when_ you will have it. It is said that milk fresh from the cow manifests the presence of lactic acid. The quantity is very slight, however, and under favorable circumstances the development is slow. Where milk is properly cooled immediately after being taken from the cow, and the factoryman has good facilities for keeping it cool, it will be found, when the time comes to begin the process of working up, what is called "sweet." It will not taste as fresh and clean as when first cooled after milking; but no acid will be perceptible to either taste or smell--not even enough to make it what is termed "old." Some think age makes the milk all the better for cheese-making, and we believe it is generally understood that milk fresh from the cow does not work quite satisfactorily. However, we place no great stress on this opinion. Old milk will work quicker than new milk; the acid will develop sooner to the point desired by the cheese-maker, and this saving of time doubtless has something to do with the decision in favor of age in milk for the purpose of cheese-making. Our impression is, that milk cannot be too sweet when the rennet is added, and that if sufficient time is taken to develop the acid in the whey before dipping, the fresh milk will be found to turn out the finest-flavored and best-keeping cheese. The acid is not wanted in the _curd_, but in the _whey_. If the milk is sour, to begin with, or quite advanced toward sourness, the lactic acid must pervade every particle of the whole mass. Now, it strikes us that the correct idea is to expel the whey from the curd, as far as possible, before the acid makes its appearance, and let the acid develop in the whey afterward, so as to furnish a sort of pickle. The acid will develop sharply at some stage in the process; and, as we have before said, the question to be decided seems to be as to what point it is best to have it develop at. We say, with the light we at present have before us, we think the acid should never be allowed to develop much before the curd is cooked and the whey is properly expelled; then let the whey take on acid to quite a perceptible degree before dipping the curd. We doubt if it makes much difference whether the acidulation takes place while the curd is floating in the whey, or after the whey is drawn off and while the curd stands and drains. There is rather more convenience in handling to leave the whey on and stir the curd sufficiently to keep it from packing; but the "cheddar" cheese, which is generally considered the best of any, is made by stacking the curd, after cooking, and allowing the whey that clings to it to take on acid. But where the milk is all right, to begin with, and the curd is properly managed and cooked, we doubt if it makes any material difference which process is adopted for allowing the acid to develop. With such a curd, there is little danger of its being injured by the acid, as any one can demonstrate by allowing curd to stand unpressed over night, as is often done with small remnants, when the pieces will be found covered with an almost vinegar-sour acid. Grind this curd and put it to press, and there will be no signs of sour cheese. The development of the acid is absolutely necessary to secure good keeping qualities and a mild, clean flavor. Dip a curd before the whey has become perceptibly acid, or is on the verge of "changing," and we think that a rank, bitter flavor will be sure to follow. The absence of sufficient lactic acid leaves the albumen in a condition likely to decompose, while the butyric acid develops itself, as in rancid butter, and the two combine to make a very unpalatable flavor to one nice about the taste of his cheese. Some prefer strong cheese. To such, the nearer the flavor approaches that of smoked herring and tobacco, the greater the gustatory gratification. The principal difficulty in working up sour milk is to get sufficient action of the rennet and heat on the curd to properly condense it and expel the whey. It is a mistake, therefore, to dip a curd soft because it is sour. Run your heat up to 104° or even 106°, as soon as possible, and keep it there until your curd is cooked. It is sour, and nothing but cooking will save it, if anything will. The whey must and will come out. If you do not expel it from the particles of curd in the vat, you will not be able to press it out sufficiently to keep it from working and leaking out while the cheese stands on the ranges. If anything will prevent sour milk from making leaky cheese, it is thorough cooking. This process you should hurry up as much as possible--always having an eye to keeping the heat even, and preventing waste of butter. The acid, acting on the butter globules, makes their coatings tender. Therefore, handle the curd as carefully as possible, cool well before putting to press, and press gently, increasing the pressure gradually. But, if you have succeeded in getting your curd properly cooked, you have done one of the best things possible to retain the butter. If, when you put the curd to press, you find you have more than the usual bulk of curd, filling the hoops fuller and refusing to yield readily to the pressure of the screw--as is generally the case with sour milk, as managed in most factories--you may know that you have not done your work thoroughly, and therefore look out for leaky, sour, poor cheese. On the other hand, if you have condensed the curd to the usual bulk, so that it works well under the screw, you may hope for a fair cheese, that may pass muster when the buyer comes along. We often hear the remark, when anything is said about developing the acid, "No sour cheese for me; I prefer to dip my curd sweet." People who talk in this way either make bitter, bad-flavored cheese, or else get on more acid than they are aware of, in consequence of having dull taste and smell. They judge by the _appearance_ and _feel_ of the curd when it is in condition to dip, and may succeed in hitting the right point. In hot weather, it is hardly possible not to develop the acid sufficiently. But if they really dip the curd sweet, we do not believe it possible that their cheese can be up to the standard demanded by the best markets, though they may succeed in getting a fair price for it. Not all buyers are really good judges, and fewer still know what the matter is with a cheese that is imperfectly made. They know, perhaps, that there is something wrong about it; but what, they are unable to say. Further, we believe the average price of American cheese lower than it should be, in consequence of so little really prime cheese, and of the large amount of second-rate; and that, as yet, our buyers are not sufficiently discriminating in their purchases and prices, though they are yearly growing more so. Both buyers and cheese-makers need more experience and a better understanding of what is requisite in the manufacture of a prime article. CHAPTER XVII. DIPPING CURDS. There is nothing so difficult in cheese-making as to determine the exact point when a curd ought to be taken out of the vat and salted. A slight variation either way from this point makes an uneven lot of cheese, and much variation spoils the batch, so that it will not pass for "prime." Every cheese-maker has felt the want of some test whereby the exact point, when a curd is sufficiently "done" to dip, can be determined with certainty. Neither the sense of smell, the sense of taste, nor the sense of touch is infallible. The evidence of this fact can be seen in any factory during the season of cheese-making. A simple test of acidity, which is claimed to be conclusive, is the application of a hot iron to a lump of curd. The iron wants to be searing hot--not red hot, but hot enough to toast cheese. Take up a small handful of curd, squeeze the whey out of it, and touch the hot iron to it, holding it there for a moment, or until it adheres and begins to melt or toast the cheese. Then pull the iron gently away from the curd. If the curd is raw and sweet, it will break short off from the iron and appear crumbly. If slightly acid, it will slightly pull out in threads, but not very long ones. As the acid develops, the stringiness increases. At a certain point, the curd will cling to the iron and pull out in numerous fine threads an inch or two long. Beyond this point, the threads grow longer but fewer, until there will be only one, which will draw out a foot or so, and then break, recoiling somewhat like India-rubber. Indeed, the curd grows tougher and more stringy from the time it begins to take on acid perceptibly, until it finally ends in stringing indefinitely, like wax, having passed the point of breaking and flying back. The successive stages of development are gradual, but very marked, and cannot fail to be recognized after a few experiments. Thus having obtained a means of telling the degree of acid developed, it only remains to be decided at what point to dip the curd. It is claimed that the proper one is where the threads are the finest and most numerous. Beyond this point, the threads diminish in number but increase in length, which is an indication of too much acid. It is asserted that the hot iron test is uniform and reliable, besides being easy of application. Cheese-makers can make their own experiments, and we advise them to try the hot iron to their own satisfaction. If it should prove as conclusive as good judges think it will, it will be of immense value to our dairymen. This test reminds us of the test used by maple-sugar makers to determine when the batch has reached the point where it will "grain" and "cake" well. They make a small bow of a twig, dip it into the sugar, which