The Book of Cheese Part 14

After six weeks, such cheese may be eaten. The cut surface of Port du Salut is creamy in color, may or may not show small holes. In texture it is soft enough to spread readily under pressure without losing its shape in handling. In flavor the cheese is a mild form belonging to the Limburger group.

Port du Salut cheeses as imported from France usually are firm round cakes about 1 inches thick, weighing about 3 pounds.

CHAPTER XI

_THE HARD CHEESES_

The hard cheeses form a great series of groups, whose most prominent physical character is their firm or hard texture. This is correlated with comparatively low water-content, which is usually between 30 and 40 per cent. Although certain varieties occasionally test above 40 per cent water, this deviation is accompanied by quick ripening and rapid spoilage. These varieties of cheese are staple products with long marketable periods; therefore they may be handled in large lots, s.h.i.+pped, carted and stored freely without the losses such treatment would entail in soft cheese. The retailer frequently buys hard cheese by the ton, not by the cheese or by the box.

In making, these varieties are characterized as cooked and pressed cheeses. Although both the heating of a curd and the pressing of a newly made cheese occur among semi-hard forms, these practices appear in their most typical forms in the hard cheeses.

The hard cheeses show two types of texture. A cut cheese may appear smooth, free from holes or with a few angular cracks or seams, or it may show round holes or "eyes." In the smooth textured forms every effort is made to prevent ga.s.sy fermentations, usually by controlling the fermentation of the curd in the making process. When "eyes" are present, the end sought has been a development of a particular form of ga.s.sy fermentation which gives this appearance and brings about the characteristic ripening texture and flavor.

The hard cheeses have been developed in groups of national varieties.

The best known of these groups are those which may be represented by English Cheddar, American Factory Cheddar, Danish, the Edam of Holland, Swiss and Parmesan with many related varieties in Italy and neighboring countries of southern Europe.

+181. The Danish group.+--The Danish cheeses are related in appearance and flavor to the English group represented by Cheddar. The demand for b.u.t.ter in Europe has been so great that the Danish cheese-makers have developed skim and part skim varieties largely to the exclusion of the whole milk form. Skillful handling of their process has resulted in a product which has had a very large and appreciative market in England and Germany.

+182. The Dutch group.+--Edam and Gouda are the two forms of cheese made in Holland and most widely known among other peoples. Both reach America in considerable quant.i.ties; both are s.h.i.+pped in large amounts to tropical countries. Although attempts have been made to manufacture them in America, no commercial production of these cheeses has been successful. Although whole milk grades of these cheeses are known, they are to a large measure part skim in manufacture. The presence of one or both of these forms in every large market in America makes the general facts of their production of general interest. Parts of a report on experimental work in the making of Edam and Gouda are, therefore, given here.

+183. Edam cheese+[84] is a sweet-curd type, made from partially skimmed-milk. It comes to the market in the form of round red b.a.l.l.s, each weighing from 3 to 4 pounds when cured. It is largely manufactured in northern Holland and derives its name from a town famous as a market for this kind of cheese.[85] Milk from which one-fourth to one-third of the fat has been removed is used. Too great pains cannot be taken in regard to the condition of the milk. It should be fresh, free from every trace of taint; in brief, it should be in as perfect condition as possible.

+184. Method of manufacture.+--The following paragraphs give the steps in the manufacture of Edam cheese:

_Treatment of milk before adding rennet._--The temperature of the milk should be brought up to a point not below 85 F. nor much above 88 F.

When the desired temperature has become constant, the coloring matter should be added. Cheese color is used at the rate of 1 to 2 ounces for 1000 pounds of milk. The coloring matter should, of course, be added to the milk and thoroughly incorporated by stirring before the rennet is added.

_Addition of rennet to milk._--The rennet should not be added until the milk has reached the desired temperature (85 to 88 F.) and this temperature has become constant.

When the temperature reaches the desired point and remains there stationary, the rennet extract is added. Rennet extract may be used, 4 to 5 ounces being taken for 1000 pounds of milk, or enough to coagulate the milk in the desired time, at the actual temperature used.

The milk should be completely coagulated, ready for cutting, in about twelve to eighteen minutes from the time the rennet is added. The same precaution observed in making Cheddar cheese should be followed in making Edam cheese with reference to care in adding the rennet, such as careful, accurate measurement, dilution with pure water before addition to milk.

_Cutting the curd for Edam._--When the curd breaks clean across the finger, it should be cut; it is cut a very little softer than in the Cheddar process as ordinarily practiced. As stated, this stage of hardness in the curd which fits it for cutting should come in twelve to eighteen minutes after the rennet is added. First, a vertical knife is used and the curd is cut lengthwise, after which it is allowed to stand until the slices of curd begin to show the separation of whey. Then the vertical knife is used in cutting crosswise, after which the horizontal knife is at once used. Any curd adhering to the bottom and sides of the vat is carefully removed by the hand, after which the curd-knife is again pa.s.sed through the ma.s.s of curd lengthwise and crosswise, continuing the cutting until the curd has been cut as uniformly as possible into very small pieces.

_Treatment of Edam curd after cutting._--When the cutting is completed, one commences at once to heat the curd up to the temperature of 93 to 96 F. The heating is done as quickly as possible. While the heating is in progress, the curd is kept constantly agitated to prevent settling and consequent overheating. As soon as the curd shows signs of hardening, which the experience of the worker will enable him to determine, the whey is drawn off until the upper surface of the curd appears, when one should commence to fill the press molds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 27.--Edam cheese mold.]

_Filling molds, pressing and dressing Edam._--The molds, which are described later in detail, are well soaked in warm water previous to use, in order to prevent too sudden chilling of curd and consequent checking of separation of whey. As soon as whey is drawn off, as indicated above, one begins to fill the pressing molds (Fig. 27). The filling should be done as rapidly as possible to prevent too great cooling of curd. When the curd has been put into the molds, its temperature should not be below 88 F. Unless care is taken to keep the curd covered, the portion that is last put into the molds may become too much cooled. In making Edam cheese on a small scale, it is a good plan to squeeze the moisture out with the hands as much as possible and then break it up again before putting in the molds, when the curd should be pressed into the mold firmly by the hands. The molds should be filled as nearly alike as possible. The cheese should weigh from 5 to 5 pounds each when ready for the press. When the filling of molds is completed, they are put under continual pressure of 20 to 25 pounds for about twenty-five or thirty minutes. While the cheese is being pressed, some sweet whey is heated to a temperature of 125 or 130 F., and this whey should not be allowed to go below 120 F. at any time while it is being used. When the cheeses are taken from their molds, each is put into the warm whey for two minutes, then removed and dressed. For dressing Edam cheese, the ordinary cheese bandage cloth is used. This is cut into strips, which should be long enough to reach entirely around the cheese and overlap an inch or so, and which should be wide enough to cover all but a small portion of the ends of the cheese when put in place. Before putting on the bandage, all rough projections should be carefully pared from the cheese. In putting on, the cheese is held in one hand and the bandage is wrapped carefully around the cheese, so that the whole is covered, except a small portion on the upper and lower surface of the cheese. These bare spots are covered by small pieces of bandage cloth of a size sufficient to fill the bare surface. The bandage is kept wet with the warm sweet whey, thus facilitating the process of dressing. After each cheese is dressed, it should be replaced in the dressing mold, care being taken that the bandage remains in place and leaves no portion of the surface of the cheese uncovered and in direct contact with the mold.

The cheese is then put under continual pressure of 60 to 120 pounds and kept for six to twelve hours.

+185. Salting and curing Edam.+--There are two methods which may be employed in salting,--dry and wet. In dry-salting, when the cheese is finally taken from the press, it is removed from the press mold, its bandage is removed completely, and the cheese placed in another mold, quite similar, known as the salting mold. Each cheese is placed in a salting mold with a coating of fine salt completely surrounding it. The cheese is salted in this way once each day for five or six days. Each day the cheese should be turned when it is replaced in the mold, so that it will not be rounded on one end more than the other.

In the method of wet-salting, the cheese is placed in a tank of salt brine, made by dissolving common salt in water in the proportion of about 1 pound of salt to 2 quarts of water. Each cheese is turned once a day and should be left in the brine seven or eight days. When the cheese is taken from the salting mold or salt bath, it is placed in warm water and given a vigorous, thorough brus.h.i.+ng in order to remove all slimy or greasy substances that may have acc.u.mulated on the outer surface. When the surface is well cleansed, the cheese is carefully wiped dry with a linen towel and placed upon a shelf in the curing-room.

In being put on the shelves, the cheeses should be placed in contact so as to support one another, until they have flattened out at both ends so much that they can stand upright alone. Then they are moved far enough apart to allow a little air s.p.a.ce between them. Another method of securing the flattened ends is to support each cheese on opposite sides by wedge-shaped pieces of wood. After being placed on the shelves in the curing-room, they are turned once a day and rubbed with the bare hand during the first month, twice a week during the second month and once a week after that. When any slimy substance appears on the surface of the cheese, it should be washed off at once with warm water or sweet whey.

The special conditions of the curing-room will be noticed in detail below. When the cheeses are about two months old, they can be prepared for market in the following manner: They are first made smooth on the surface by being turned in a lathe or in some other manner, after which the surface is colored. For coloring, some carmine is dissolved in alcohol or ammonia to secure the proper shade, and in this color-bath the cheeses are placed for about one minute, when they are removed and allowed to drain, and as soon as they are dry the outside of each cheese is rubbed with boiled linseed oil, in order to prevent checking. They are then wrapped in tin-foil, which is done very much like the bandaging. Care must be taken to put on the tin-foil so that it presents a smooth, neat appearance. The cheeses are finally packed in boxes, containing twelve cheeses in each box, arranged in two layers of six each with a separate part.i.tion for each cheese.

+186. Equipment for making Edam cheese.+--Careful attention must be given to the moisture and temperature of the curing-room. This room should be well ventilated, quite moist and its temperature kept between 50 and 65 F. These are conditions not easy to secure in any ordinary room. Some form of cellar is best adapted for these conditions. The amount of moisture can be determined by an instrument known as a hygrometer. In a curing-room suited for Edam cheese, the moisture should be between 85 and 95 per cent, or a little short of saturation. When the temperature is between 50 and 65 F., the moisture is between 85 and 95 per cent if the wet-bulb thermometer is from 1 to 2 F. (or to 1 C.) below the dry-bulb thermometer. Cheese will check or crack and be spoiled for market, if the degree of moisture is not kept high enough.

Aside from the molds, press and salting vat, the same apparatus that is used in making Cheddar can be used for Edam cheese. The pressing mold is turned preferably from white wood or, in any case, from wood that will not taint. Each mold consists of two parts; the lower const.i.tutes the main part of the mold, the upper portion is simply a cover. The lower portion or body of the mold has several holes in the bottom, from which the whey flows when the cheese is pressed. Care must be taken to prevent these holes being stopped up by curd. This part of the mold is about six inches deep and six inches in diameter across the top. The salting mold has no cover and the bottom is provided with only one hole for the out-flow of whey; in other respects it is much like the pressing mold.

+187. Qualities and yield of Edam cheese.+--The flavor of a perfect Edam cheese is difficult to describe. It is mild, clean, and pleasantly saline. In imperfect Edams, the flavor is more or less sour and offensive. In body, a perfect Edam cheese is solid, rather dry and mealy or crumbly. In texture, it should be close and free from pores. In the experiments here reported the amount of fat in 100 pounds of the partially skimmed-milk varied from 2.45 to 3.20 pounds and averaged 2.77 pounds. Of this amount, from 0.30 to 0.51 pound of fat was lost in the whey, with an average of 0.39 pound. The yield of cheese from 100 pounds of milk varied from 9.60 to 11.82 pounds and averaged 10.56 pounds.

+188. Gouda cheese.+[86]--This Dutch variety is a sweet-curd cheese made from whole milk. In shape, the Gouda cheese is somewhat like a Cheddar with the sharp edges rounded off and sloping toward the outer circ.u.mference at the middle from the end faces. They usually weigh 10 or 12 pounds, though they vary in weight from 8 to 16 pounds. They are largely manufactured in southern Holland, and derive their name from the town in which they were first made. Fresh sweet milk that has been produced and cared for in the best possible manner should be used.

+189. Method of manufacture.+--The processes of manufacturing Gouda cheese are as follows:

_Treatment of milk before adding rennet._--The temperature of the milk should be brought up to a point not below 88 F. nor much above 90 F.

When the desired temperature has been reached and has become constant, the coloring matter is added. One ounce of cheese color for about 1200 pounds of milk may be used. The coloring matter should be thoroughly incorporated by stirring before the rennet is added.

_Addition of rennet to milk._--The rennet should not be added until the milk has reached the desired temperature (88 to 90 F.) and this temperature has become constant. The milk should be completely coagulated, ready for cutting, in fifteen or twenty minutes. The same precautions should be used in adding rennet as those previously mentioned in connection with the manufacture of Edam cheese.

_Cutting the curd._--The curd should be cut when it is of about the hardness generally observed for cutting in the Cheddar process. The cutting is done as in the Cheddar process except that the curd is cut a little finer in the Gouda cheese. Curd should be about the size of peas or wheat kernels when ready for press and as uniform in size as possible.

_Treatment of curd after cutting._--After the cutting is completed, heating and stirring is begun at once. The heating and constant stirring is continued until the curd reaches a temperature of 104 F., which should require from thirty to forty minutes. When the curd becomes rubber-like in feeling, the whey should be run off. The whey should be entirely sweet when it is removed.

_Pressing and dressing Gouda._--After the whey is off, the curd is put in molds at once without salting (Fig. 28). Pains should be taken in this process to keep the temperature of the curd as near 100 F. as possible. Each cheese is placed under continuous pressure amounting to ten or twenty times its own weight and kept for about half an hour. The first bandage is put on in very much the same manner as in Edam cheese making. The cheese is then put in press again for about one hour. The first bandage is then taken off and a second one like the first put on with great care, taking pains to make the bandage smooth, capping the ends as before. The cheese is then put in press again and left twelve hours or more.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 28.--Gouda cheese mold.]

_Salting and curing._--When Gouda cheese is taken from the press, the bandage is removed and it is placed for twenty-four hours in a curing-room like that used for Edam cheese, as previously described.

Each cheese is then rubbed all over with dry salt until the salt begins to dissolve, and this same treatment is continued twice a day for ten days. At the end of that time, each cheese is carefully and thoroughly washed in warm water and dried with a clean linen towel. The cheeses are then placed on the shelves of the curing-room, turned once a day and rubbed. The temperature and moisture are controlled as described in the curing process of Edam cheese. If the outer surfaces of the cheese become slimy at any time, they are carefully washed in warm water and dried with clean towels. Under these conditions, cheese ripens in two or three months.

+190. Equipment for Gouda cheese.+--The molds, press and curing-room are the only equipment needed in the making of Gouda cheese that differ from that employed in making Cheddar cheese. The mold used for Gouda cheese consists of two portions, which are shown separately in Fig. 28.

These molds are made of heavy pressed tin. The inside diameter at the middle is about 10 inches, that of the ends about 6 inches. The height of the mold is about 5 inches, and this represents the thickness of the cheese, but by pus.h.i.+ng the upper down into the lower portion, the thickness can be decreased as desired.

+191. Composition and yield of Gouda.+--In work with milk averaging 4.2 per cent of fat there were lost in the whey from 0.29 to 0.43 per cent with an average of 0.35 per cent of fat. The loss of fat appears to be not much greater than the average loss met with in cheese factories in making Cheddar cheese. From 100 pounds of milk, there were made from 11.60 to 13.35 pounds of green cheese, with an average of 12.50 pounds.

The percentage of water in the experimental cheese varied from 41.25 to 45.43 per cent and averaged 43.50 per cent.

CHAPTER XII

_CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING_

Cheddar is the best known cheese throughout the United States and the one most commonly made in factories. The Cheddar process was brought to America by English immigrants. Similar to Cheddar cheese are Pineapple, English Dairy, Sage cheese, skimmed-milk and California Jack cheese made in this country, and Derbys.h.i.+re, Leicesters.h.i.+re, Wensleydale and Ches.h.i.+re made in England. The Cheddar cheese process as employed in the factories to-day has been modified and improved since it was first introduced into this country by the early immigrants. The following description[87] includes only the practices as found in the factories to-day if whole milk is used. Skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese is discussed later.

+192. The lot-card.+--The Cheddar process involves several hours of manipulation and includes many details which should be closely and accurately observed and recorded. The necessity of carrying observations of several different factors at the same time makes a scheme of recording data essential to convenient work. For this purpose, a lot-card for Cheddar cheese is introduced here and the pages given to particular factors are indicated in the s.p.a.ce intended for the recording of observations. The manufacture of Cheddar cheese is a complicated process, because several factors must be given attention at the same time. A careful record of the observations of each step in the successive handling of each lot of milk puts the operator in possession of a permanent record of his experience. This record has several uses.

It may help to convince patrons of the importance of eliminating faults in the milk; it furnishes the cheese-maker a c.u.mulative record of his experiences in handling milk with special qualities, such as high or low fat-content, over-acidity or taints. Since Cheddar ripening covers a period of weeks and months, no operator can remember particular lots of milk sufficiently well to be able to use his experience on the interpretation of the qualities found in the ripened product.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 29.--Delivering milk to the cheese factory.]