Page:Hand-book on cheese making.djvu/22

 go on for a few moments. When the curd begins to pack slightly (perpapsperhaps [sic] in five minutes, more or less, according to the previous maturity of the milk), again stir it up in the manner described and again let it rest, repeating the periods of agitation until it is scalded up to the desired temperature. In regard to the right temperature at which to scald cheese we cannot hope to give on paper much more than superficial information. Every phase of cheese making, to be thoroughly understood, requires practical experience, but hints and pointers on paper are often just what are needed to help puzzled ones out of awkward dilemmas encountered in the business. Hence, we shall, in the most clear and logical manner possible, give the reader our views, derived from experience, on scalding temperature.

In the spring of the year, hay produced milk is comparatively poor and thin. When it reaches the manufacturer's hands it is generally as sweet as a rose in regard to acid, although not always so in regard to stable tang. When it has been transformed into curd it must be scalded high enough to cook it, whether that takes a temperature of 98°, 100°, or 110° Fahrenheit. Don't think, as some do, that the curd is cooked when it has reached the temperature you are using—generally it is not more than half cooked then. We will say you began making cheese on the first day of April. You are not an expert at the business and, being anxious to make a good beginning, feel a trifle nervous over the situation. Keep cool and bring the temperature of the curd up to 100°. On reaching this heat immediately cover up the vat with the carpet-like canopy previously described. Be sure and give it a thorough rake stirring the last thing on reaching the scalding point. If the make-room is reasonably warm the canvas roof will keep the whey at a mercurial heat of 100° for a long while. After a few minutes examine the curd and see how