For generations, perhaps for centuries, the question has been discussed
as to why there should be so large a proportion of bad and inferior
cheese and so small a proportion of really good cheese made in
farmhouses throughout the land. That the result is not wholly due to
skill and care or to the absence of these qualities on the part of the
dairymaid may now be taken for granted. Instances might be quoted in
which the most painstaking of dairymaids, in the cleanest of dairies,
have failed to produce cheese of even second-rate quality and character,
and yet others in which excellent cheese has been made under commonplace
conditions as to skill and equipment, and with not much regard to
cleanliness in the dairy. The explanation of what was so long a mystery
has been found in the domain of ferments. It is now known that whilst
various micro-organisms, which in many dairies have free access to the
milk, have ruined an incalculable quantity of cheese--and of butter
also--neither cheese nor butter of first-rate quality can be made
without the aid of lactic acid bacilli. As an illustrative case, mention
may be made of that of two most painstaking dairymaids who had tried in
vain to make good cheese from the freshest of milk in the cleanest of
dairies in North Lancashire. Advice to resort to the use of the ferment
was acted upon, and the result was a revelation and a transformation,
excellent prize-winning cheese being made from that time forward. By the
addition of a "starter," in the form of a small quantity of sour milk,
whey or buttermilk, in an advanced stage of fermentation, the
development of acidity in the main body of milk is accelerated. It has
been ascertained that the starter is practically a culture of bacteria,
which, if desired, may be obtained as a pure culture. Professor J. R.
Campbell, as the result of experiments on pure cultures for Cheddar
cheese-making, states[7] that (1) first-class Cheddar cheese can be made
by using pure cultures of a lactic organism; (2) this organism abounds
in all samples of sour milk and sour whey; (3) the use of a whey starter
is attended with results equal in every respect to those obtained from a
milk-starter. It is well within the power of any dairyman to prepare
what is practically a pure culture of the same bacterium as is supplied
from the laboratory. Moreover, the sour-whey starter used by some of the
successful cheese-makers before the introduction of the American system
is in effect a pure culture, from which it follows that these men had,
by empirical methods, attained the same end as that to which
bacteriological research subsequently led. Wherever a starter is
necessary, the use of a culture practically pure is imperative, whether
such culture be obtained from the laboratory or prepared by what may be
called the "home-made starter." Pure cultures may be bought for a few
shillings in the open market.
TABLE IX.--_Comparison of the Estimates of Total or Original
Manure-Value when Foods are consumed for the Production of Fattening
Increase, with those when the Food is consumed by Cows giving
different Yields of Milk._
+----+---------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| | | Total or Original Manure-Value per Ton of Food |
| | | consumed--that is, only deducting the Constituents |
| | | in Fattening Increase or in Milk. |
| | Description +---------+-------------------------------------------------+
|Nos.| of Food. | For the | For the Production of Milk, supposing |
| | | Produc- | the Yield per Head per Day to be as under-- |
| | | tion of | |
| | |Fattening+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | |Increase | 6 qts. | 8 qts. | 10 qts. | 12 qts. | 14 qts. |
+----+---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| | | L s. d.| L s. d.| L s. d.| L s. d.| L s. d.| L s. d.|
| 1 | Linseed | 1 19 2 | 1 14 7 | 1 12 0 | 1 9 6 | 1 7 1 | 1 4 5 |
| 2 | Linseed cake | 2 11 11 | 2 8 1 | 2 6 0 | 2 3 10 | 2 1 9 | 1 19 8 |
| 3 | Decorticated | | | | | | |
| | cotton cake | 3 14 9 | 3 11 2 | 3 9 2 | 3 7 4 | 3 5 4 | 3 3 4 |
| 4 | Palm-nut cake | 1 6 4 | 1 3 2 | 1 1 4 | 0 19 5 | 0 17 9 | 0 15 11 |
| 5 | Undecorticated| | | | | | |
| | cotton cake | 2 5 3 | 2 2 4 | 2 0 8 | 1 19 2 | 1 17 6 | 1 15 11 |
| 6 | Cocoa-nut cake| 1 19 10 | 1 16 11 | 1 15 3 | 1 13 9 | 1 12 3 | 1 10 6 |
| 7 | Rape cake | 2 16 5 | 1 14 2 | 2 12 11 | 2 11 7 | 2 10 4 | 2 9 1 |
| 8 | Peas | 1 16 5 | 1 13 1 | 1 11 2 | 1 9 6 | 1 7 8 | 1 5 9 |
| 9 | Beans | 2 1 11 | 1 18 7 | 1 16 10 | 1 14 11 | 1 13 1 | 1 11 4 |
| 10 | Lentils | 2 0 8 | 1 17 5 | 1 15 7 | 1 13 9 | 1 12 2 | 1 10 1 |
| 11 | Tares (seed) | 2 1 1 | 1 17 11 | 1 16 0 | 1 14 2 | 1 12 6 | 1 10 7 |
| 12 | Maize | 0 16 7 | 0 13 4 | 0 11 7 | 0 9 11 | 0 8 1 | 0 6 5 |
| 13 | Wheat | 0 18 11 | 0 15 8 | 0 13 11 | 0 12 1 | 0 10 5 | 0 8 8 |
| 14 | Malt | 0 17 7 | 0 14 5 | 0 12 7 | 0 10 8 | 0 9 0 | 0 7 1 |
| 15 | Barley | 0 17 2 | 0 14 0 | 0 12 3 | 0 10 6 | 0 8 8 | 0 6 11 |
| 16 | Oats | 0 19 9 | 0 16 8 | 0 15 0 | 0 13 4 | 0 11 7 | 0 9 10 |
| 17 | Rice meal |(0 18 6)| 0 15 5 | 0 13 9 | 0 12 0 | 0 10 5 | 0 8 7 |
| 18 | Locust beans | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| 19 | Malt coombs | 2 6 7 | 2 3 9 | 2 2 0 | 2 0 6 | 1 18 11 | 1 17 4 |
| 20 | Fine pollard | 1 15 2 | 1 12 0 | 1 10 5 | 1 8 8 | 1 6 11 | 1 5 3 |
| 21 | Coarse pollard| 1 18 1 | 1 15 2 | 1 13 6 | 1 12 0 | 1 10 5 | 1 8 9 |
| 22 | Bran | 1 18 6 | 1 15 11 | 1 14 6 | 1 13 1 | 1 11 8 | 1 10 3 |
| 23 | Clover hay | 1 7 0 | 1 5 5 | 1 4 5 | 1 3 7 | 1 2 8 | 1 1 8 |
| 24 | Meadow hay | 0 18 7 | 0 17 0 | 0 16 3 | 0 15 5 | 0 14 5 | 0 13 7 |
| 25 | Pea straw | 0 12 2 | 0 10 9 | 0 10 0 | 0 9 3 | 0 8 5 | 0 7 8 |
| 26 | Oat straw | 0 7 5 | 0 6 2 | 0 5 5 | 0 4 9 | 0 4 0 | 0 3 3 |
| 27 | Wheat straw | 0 6 6 | 0 5 5 | 0 4 10 | 0 4 2 | 0 3 6 | 0 3 0 |
| 28 | Barley straw | 0 6 5 | 0 5 6 | 0 4 10 | 0 4 4 | 0 3 9 | 0 3 2 |
| 29 | Bean straw | 0 11 5 | 0 10 4 | 0 9 9 | 0 9 2 | 0 8 7 | 0 8 0 |
| 30 | Potatoes | 0 4 1 | 0 3 9 | 0 3 6 | 0 3 3 | 0 3 1 | 0 2 11 |
| 31 | Carrots | 0 2 9 | 0 2 6 | 0 2 4 | 0 2 3 | 0 2 1 | 0 1 11 |
| 32 | Parsnips | 0 3 6 | 0 3 3 | 0 3 1 | 0 2 10 | 0 2 8 | 0 2 7 |
| 33 | Mangel wurzels| 0 3 2 | 0 3 0 | 0 2 10 | 0 2 9 | 0 2 7 | 0 2 5 |
| 34 | Swedish | | | | | | |
| | turnips | 0 2 11 | 0 2 9 | 0 2 8 | 0 2 7 | 0 2 5 | 0 2 3 |
| 35 | Yellow turnips|(0 2 6)| 0 2 4 | 0 2 3 | 0 2 2 | 0 2 1 | 0 2 0 |
| 36 | White turnips | 0 2 7 | 0 2 5 | 0 2 4 | 0 2 3 | 0 2 2 | 0 2 0 |
+----+---------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
The factory-made cheese of Canada, the United States and Australasia,
which is so largely imported into the United Kingdom, is all of the
Cheddar type. The factory system has made no headway in the original
home of the Cheddar cheese in the west of England. The system was thus
described in the _Journal_ of the British Dairy Farmers' Association in
1889 by Mr R. J. Drummond:--
"In the year 1885 I was engaged as cheese instructor by the Ayrshire
Dairy Association, to teach the Canadian system of Cheddar
cheese-making. I commenced operations under many difficulties, being a
total stranger to both the people and the country, and with this, the
quantities of milk were very much less than I had been in the habit of
handling. Instead of having the milk from 500 to 1000 cows, we had to
operate with the milk from 25 to not over 60 cows.
"The system of cheese-making commonly practised in the county of Ayr
at that time was what is commonly known as the Joseph Harding or
English Cheddar system, which differs from the Canadian system in many
details, and in one particular is essentially different, namely, the
manner in which the necessary acidity in the milk is produced. In the
old method a certain quantity of sour whey was added to the milk each
day before adding the rennet, and I have no doubt in my own mind that
this whey was often added when the milk was already acid enough, and
the consequence was a spoiled cheese.
"Another objection to this system of adding sour whey was, should the
stuff be out of condition one day, the same trouble was inoculated
with the milk from day to day, and the result was sure to be great
unevenness in the quality of the cheese. The utensils commonly in use
were very different to anything I had ever seen before; instead of the
oblong cheese vat with double casings, as is used by the best makers
at the present time, a tub, sometimes of tin and sometimes of wood,
from 4 to 7 ft. in diameter by about 30 in. deep, was universally in
use. Instead of being able to heat the milk with warm water or steam,
as is commonly done now, a large can of a capacity of from 20 to 30
gallons was filled with cold milk and placed in a common hot-water
boiler, and heated sufficiently to bring the whole body of the milk in
the tub to the desired temperature for adding the rennet. I found that
many mistakes were made in the quantity of rennet used, as scarcely
any two makers used the same quantity to a given quantity of milk.
Instead of having a graduated measure for measuring the rennet, a
common tea-cup was used for this purpose, and I have found in some
dairies as low as 3 oz. of rennet was used to 100 gallons of milk,
where in others as high as 6(1/2) oz. was used to the same quantity.
This of itself would cause a difference in the quality of the cheese.
"Coagulation and breaking completed, the second heating was effected
by dipping the whey from the curd into the can already mentioned, and
heated to a temperature of 140 deg. F., and returned to the curd, and
thus the process was carried on till the desired temperature was
reached. This mode of heating I considered very laborious and at the
same time very unsatisfactory, as it is impossible to distribute the
heat as evenly through the curd in this way as by heating either with
hot water or steam. The other general features of the method do not
differ from our own very materially, with the exception that in the
old method the curd was allowed to mature in the bottom of the tub,
where at the same stage we remove the curd from the vat to what we
call a curd-cooler, made with a sparred bottom, so as to allow the
whey to separate from the curd during the maturing or ripening
process. In regard to the quality of cheese on the one method compared
with the other, I think that there was some cheese just as fine made
in the old way as anything we can possibly make in the new, with one
exception, and that is, that the cheese made according to the old
method will not toast--instead of the casein melting down with the
butter-fat, the two become separated, which is very much objected to
by the consumer--and, with this, want of uniformity through the whole
dairy. This is a very short and imperfect description of how the
cheese was made at the time I came into Ayrshire; and I will now give
a short description of the system that has been taught by myself for
the past four years, and has been the means of bringing this county so
prominently to the front as one of the best cheese-making counties in
Britain.
"Our duty in this system of cheese-making begins the night before, in
having the milk properly set and cooled according to the temperature
of the atmosphere, so as to arrive at a given heat the next morning.
Our object in this is to secure, at the time we wish to begin work in
the morning, that degree of acidity or ripeness essential to the
success of the whole operation. We cannot give any definite guide to
makers how, or in what quantities, to set their milk, as the whole
thing depends on the good judgment of the operator. If he finds that
his milk works best at a temperature of 68 deg. F. in the morning, his
study the night before should tend toward such a result, and he will
soon learn by experience how best to manage the milk in his own
individual dairy. I have found in some dairies that the milk worked
quite fast enough at a temperature of 64 deg. in the morning, where in
others the milk set in the same way would be very much out of
condition by being too sweet, causing hours of delay before matured
enough to add the rennet. Great care should be taken at this point,
making sure that the milk is properly matured before the rennet is
added, as impatience at this stage often causes hours of delay in the
making of a cheese. I advise taking about six hours from the time the
rennet is added till the curd is ready for salting, which means a
six-hours' process; if much longer than this, I have found by
experience that it is impossible to obtain the best results. The cream
should always be removed from the night's milk in the morning and
heated to a temperature of about 84 deg. before returning it to the
vat. To do this properly and with safety, the cream should be heated
by adding about two-thirds of warm milk as it comes from the cow to
one-third of cream, and passed through the ordinary milk-strainers. If
colouring matter is used, it should be added fifteen to twenty minutes
before the rennet, so as to become thoroughly mingled with the milk
before coagulation takes place.
"We use from 4 to 4(1/2) oz. of Hansen's rennet extract to each 100
gallons of milk, at a temperature of 86 deg. in spring and 84 deg. in
summer, or sufficient to coagulate milk firm enough to cut in about
forty minutes when in a proper condition. In cutting, great care
should be taken not to bruise the curd. I cut lengthwise, then across
with perpendicular knife, then with horizontal knife the same way of
the perpendicular, leaving the curd in small cubes about the size of
ordinary peas. Stirring with the hands should begin immediately after
cutting, and continue for ten to fifteen minutes prior to the
application of heat. At this stage we use a rake instead of the hands
for stirring the curd during the heating process, which lasts about
one hour from the time of beginning until the desired temperature of
100 deg. or 102 deg. is reached. After heating, the curd should be
stirred another twenty minutes, so as to become properly firm before
allowing it to settle. We like the curd to lie in the whey fully one
hour after allowing it to settle before it is ready for drawing the
whey, which is regulated altogether by the condition of the milk at
the time the rennet is added. At the first indication of acid, the
whey should be removed as quickly as possible. I think at this point
lies the greatest secret of cheese-making--to know when to draw the
whey.
"I depend entirely on the hot-iron test at this stage, as I consider
it the most accurate and reliable guide known to determine when the
proper acidity has been developed. To apply this test, take a piece of
steel bar about 18 in. long by 1 in. wide and 1/4 in. thick, and heat
to a black heat; if the iron is too hot, it will burn the curd; if too
cold, it will not stick; consequently it is a very simple matter to
determine the proper heat. Take a small quantity of the curd from the
vat and compress it tightly in the hand, so as to expel all the whey;
press the curd against the iron, and when acid enough it will draw
fine silky threads 1/4 in. long. At this stage the curd should be
removed to the curd-cooler as quickly as possible, and stirred till
dry enough to allow it to mat, which generally takes from five to
eight minutes. The curd is now allowed to stand in one end of the
cooler for thirty minutes, when it is cut into pieces from 6 to 8 in.
square and turned, and so on every half-hour until it is fit for
milling. After removing the whey, a new acid makes its appearance in
the body of the curd, which seems to depend for its development upon
the action of the air, and the presence of which experience has shown
to be an essential element in the making of a cheese. This acid should
be allowed to develop properly before the addition of salt. To
determine when the curd is ready for salting, the hot-iron test is
again resorted to; and when the curd will draw fine silky threads
1(1/2) in. long, and at the same time have a soft velvety feel when
pressed in the hand, the butter-fat will not separate with the whey
from the curd. I generally advise using 1 lb. of salt to 50 lb. of
curd, more or less, according to the condition of the curd. After
salting, we let the curd lie fifteen minutes, so as to allow the salt
to be thoroughly dissolved before pressing.
"In the pressing, care should be taken not to press the curd too
severely at first, as you are apt to lose some of the butter-fat, and
with this I do not think that the whey will come away so freely by
heavy pressing at first. We advise three days' pressing before cheese
is taken to the curing-room. All cheese should have a bath in water at
a temperature of 120 deg. next morning after being made, so as to form
a good skin to prevent cracking or chipping. The temperature of the
curing-room should be kept as near 60 deg. as possible at all seasons
of the year, and I think it a good plan to ventilate while heating."
With regard to the hot-iron test for acidity, Mr F. J. Lloyd, in
describing his investigations on behalf of the Bath and West of England
Society, states that cheese-makers have long known that in both the
manufacture and the ripening of cheese the acidity produced--known to
the chemist as "lactic acid"--materially influences the results
obtained, and that amongst other drawbacks to the test referred to is
the uncertainty of the temperature of the iron itself. He gives an
account,[8] however, of a chemical method involving the use of a
standard solution of an alkali (soda), and of a substance termed an
"indicator" (phenolphthalein), which changes colour according to whether
a solution is acid or alkaline. The apparatus used with these reagents
is called the acidimeter. The two stages in the manufacture of a Cheddar
cheese most difficult to determine empirically are--(1) when to stop
stirring and to draw the whey, and (2) when to grind the curd. The
introduction of the acidimeter has done away with these difficulties;
and though the use of this apparatus is not actually a condition
essential to the manufacture of a good cheese, it is to many makers a
necessity and to all an advantage. By its use the cheese-maker can
determine the acidity of the whey, and so decide when to draw the latter
off, and will thus secure not only the proper development of acidity in
the subsequent changes of cheese-making, but also materially diminish
the time which the cheese takes to make. Furthermore, it has been proved
that the acidity of the whey which drains from the curd when in the
cooler is a sufficiently accurate guide to the condition of the curd
before grinding; and by securing uniformity in this acidity the maker
will also ensure uniformity in the quality and ripening properties of
the cheese. Speaking generally, the acidity of the liquid from the press
should never fall below 0.80% nor rise above 1.20%, and, the nearer it
can be kept to 1.00% the better. Simultaneously, of course, strict
attention must be paid to temperature, time and every other factor which
can be accurately determined. Analyses of large numbers of Cheddar
cheeses manufactured in every month of the cheese-making season show the
average composition of ripe specimens to be--water, 35.58%; fat, 31.33;
casein, 29.12; mineral matter or ash, 3.97. It has been maintained that
in the ripening of Cheddar cheese fat is formed out of the curd, but a
comparison of analyses of ripe cheeses with analyses of the curd from
which the cheeses were made affords no evidence that this is the case.
The quantity of milk required to make 1 lb. of Cheddar cheese may be
learnt from Table X., which shows the results obtained at the cheese
school of the Bath and West of England Society in the two seasons of
1899 and 1900. The cheese was sold at an average age of ten to twelve
weeks. In 1899 a total of 21,220 gallons of milk yielded 20,537 lb. of
saleable cheese, and in 1900, 31,808 gallons yielded 29,631 lb. In the
two years together 53,028 gallons yielded 50,168 lb., which is
equivalent to 1.05 gallon of milk to 1 lb. of cheese. For practical
purposes it may be taken that one gallon, or slightly over 10 lb. of
milk, yields 1 lb. of pressed cheese. The prices obtained are added as a
matter of interest.
Cheshire cheese is largely made in the county from which it takes its
name, and in adjoining districts. It is extensively consumed in
Manchester and Liverpool, and other parts of the densely populated
county of Lancaster.
TABLE X.--_Quantities of Milk employed and of Cheese produced in the
Manufacture of Cheddar Cheese._
+---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+
| When Made. | Milk. | Green |Saleable| Shrinkage. | Price. |
| | |Cheese.| Cheese.| | |
+---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+
| | galls.| lb. | lb. | |per cwt.|
| April 1899 | 3077 | 3100 | 2924 | 6 per cent. | 60s. |
| May | 4462 | 4502 | 4257 | 6(1/2)lb. per cwt. | 63s. |
| June | 4316 | 4434 | 4141 | 7 lb. 6 oz. per cwt.| 70s. |
| July | 3699 | 3785 | 3545 | 7 lb. 2 oz. per cwt.| 74s. |
| August | 2495 | 2539 | 2353 | 8 lb. 3 oz. per cwt.| 74s. |
| Sept. and Oct.| 3171 | 3583 | 3317 | 8 lb. 5 oz. per cwt.| 74s. |
| April 1900 | 3651 | 3505 | 3292 | 6 per cent. | 63s. |
| May | 6027 | 6048 | 5577 | 7(3/4) per cent. | 64s. |
| June | 5960 | 5889 | 5466 | 7(1/4) per cent. | 68s. |
| July and Aug. | 7227 | 7177 | 6630 | 7(1/2) per cent. | 66s. |
| Sept. and Oct.| 8943 | 9635 | 8666 | 10 per cent. | 66s. |
+---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+