Chapter M: E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’ (5)

As fast as brought in, the milk should be run through a hair sieve. This, and also the vessels with which the milk comes in contact, must be kept scrupulously clean by the aid of constant scalding, to be followed by rinsing with cold water, and drying in the air. The milk is exposed in the pans for varying periods in order that the globules of fat may have an opportunity of separating from the milk and floating on the surface. This process is now very commonly replaced by the use of a hydro-extractor, in which centrifugal action breaks up the milk into cream and “skim milk” without any need for waiting. According to the older practice the milk is left to stand for a considerable time, but no advantage is gained by exceeding 24 hours; in fact the best authorities say that it should be skimmed before the surface begins to look wrinkled, as this appearance is a symptom of incipient putrefaction. Large shallow perforated tin ladles are used for removing the cream, which should be carefully deposited, without splash, in white stoneware jars holding 2 to 12 gal., according to the size of the dairy. Common glazed earthenware is to be avoided on account of injurious chemical action. Skimming should be done twice daily, and each time an addition of cream is made to the jar the whole contents should be well but gently stirred with a stoneware spoon. The jars should be covered with gauze to exclude insects. In some dairies skimming is avoided by the simple plan of having a hole in the bottom of the milk dish by which the milk is drawn off, leaving the cream undisturbed.

Butter consists of the fatty portion of the milk, which is separated by the process known as “churning,” the object of which is to rupture the envelopes which hold the fatty matter. The bulk of this fatty matter resides in the cream. Butter may be “made” by churning either the milk or only the cream; and these may be either in a sweet or sour (“lappered”) state. The most general practice is to churn the cream alone in a lappered condition. For this reason the cream is set to ripen in stoneware jars for several days, averaging about 3 days in summer, and 5 or 6 in winter, preferably with occasional stirring. It is the general opinion that to get the best butter, the operation of churning should be comparatively slow, from ¾ hour to 2 hours--an hour being a fair average, varying, however, according to the season; the operation being much more tedious in winter than in summer. After the butter is separated from the cream, the buttermilk remains, containing the casein, salt, and sugar present in the original cream, though a portion of these is taken up with the butter. The greater the proportion of casein left in the butter, the poorer is the latter in quality, and the more readily will it become rancid.

Commenting on Jenkins’ pamphlet, ‘Hints on Butter-making,’ the _Field_ recently published the following remarks:--

“Cheese-making, owing to American importations, has recently been so unprofitable that there is the more necessity for attention to butter-making. Why should the dairies of France, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden be able to supply an article in our markets which is superior to the bulk of our own make? And why, above all, in the matter of fresh butter, should Normandy be preferred by our large purveyors to the home dairies, were it not that by superior cleanliness and systematic management the quality is more dependable? For instance, we have been told that the manager of the Midland Hotel at Derby obtains all his butter from Normandy, because he finds it more reliable and of better and more uniform quality than English produce, notwithstanding that he lives in the centre of a great dairy district, and that the foreign produce is liable to deterioration by the journey. Here, then, the English farmer has an opportunity which he is very wrong to neglect. Cheese does not pay--at least, such varieties as are usually made; the demand for milk is limited; but good sweet butter will always command a fair and often a very high price. The reasons given by Jenkins for the inferior butter are these: That the milk is not skimmed early enough--often not before a certain amount of sourness has been developed in the milk, and an appreciable amount of curd has therefore become mixed with the cream. It is true that this curd increases the quantity, but it affects the quality; the butter becomes rank, and fetches a low price. Careless skimming, by taking off some of the milk with the cream, causes the same results. Carelessness in churning or in the manipulation of the butter, by which buttermilk and water are left in the butter. It may be that this is sometimes intentional, as more weight is obtained; but the quality is greatly injured. Much handling of the butter in making up is also a source of injury. Dirt in any form, bad smells, unskilful milking, bad food and water given to the cows; bad water, soap, or other noxious substances used in washing the dairy and vessels, are all causes of bad butter which must be guarded against. Temperature being allowed to vary, bad packing, &c., are all elements that require more care than is usually bestowed. As regards the food, Jenkins points out that in a wet season, grass alone cannot be depended on to give a good result--it is too succulent in its nature, and should be modified by the use of 4 lb. of bean meal given to each cow daily; whilst under ordinary circumstances the ration may consist of 2 lb. to 3 lb. of decorticated cotton cake, or 2½ lb. of bran and 2½ lb. of oatmeal, or 3 lb. of oatmeal and 2 lb. of bean meal. And he states, what all who have had experience will confirm, that by the use of such food more cows can be profitably kept, and that a farmer should look upon grass and hay as the most expensive articles of food. Then Jenkins proceeds to describe the process of butter-making adopted in the best districts of Normandy. We shall make no apology for publishing these directions _verbatim_, as we shall thereby assist the society in the dissemination of useful knowledge.

“1. Clean all dairy utensils by rinsing them with clean cold water, and afterwards scrubbing them with boiling water; after which repeat the cold rinsing.

“2. Cool the milk directly it is brought into the dairy by placing the cans in a running stream, or by any other available method. This, we may be permitted to observe, whilst most desirable, is often not easily attainable. The Americans, in selecting the site for the dairy, always prefer the base of a hill, so as to secure two very important factors--shelter from the sun and a cold spring of water. If running water cannot be obtained, that from a deep well may be used.

“3. Set the milk at a temperature of not exceeding 55°F. in glazed earthenware or tin pans. The question of whether these shall be shallow or deep will depend upon our facilities for reducing the temperature. If we have running water or ice, there is no doubt that the deep cans thus surrounded offer a greater surface of milk to the cooling influence, and this rapid and regular cooling causes the cream to rise freely and quickly; but if we have not these facilities, then shallow pans are preferable.

“4. Skim after 12 hours with a perforated tin saucer, and take care that nothing but cream is removed; 12 hours after, skim a second time; but this should not be mixed with the first skimmed cream at all, if our object is to make the finest class of butter; but otherwise it must be mixed with the first cream just before churning. Of course by following this plan we do not obtain the maximum produce, but we have the best quality. If the cream is too thick, a little pure water may be added, but the addition of milk should be avoided.

“5. Keep the cream, until the time for changing, in the coldest place available, in covered earthenware or tin vessels.

“6. Churn the cream at a temperature of 57° to 60° F., and obtain this by gradually raising or lowering the temperature by placing the vessel in a bath of warm or cold water. Use an ordinary revolving barrel, or a midfeather churn, fitted with a spigot. The more simple the churn, and the less mechanism, the more easily is it churned. Thomas and Taylor’s Self-acting Eccentric Churn (Stockport, Cheshire), which gained the first prize at Bristol, is recommended, to be turned at from 50 to 60 revolutions per minute. Stop the churning at once when the butter comes, however small the globules may be. Remove the buttermilk by allowing it to run through a hair sieve, and return any butter globules to the churn.

“7. Work the butter slowly with cold water by half filling the churn, giving it 3 or 4 turns, and then withdrawing the water. Repeat the working until the water comes out clear; this is of great importance. Remove the butter by a pair of wooden patters, and press out the water by passing it under a kneading board, or on a larger scale, by using a revolving butter worker. The board and roller can be obtained for 13_s._ 6_d._, of How, 13, Bishopsgate-street, E.C.; or of T. Bradford and Co., 140, High Holborn. Avoid using the hand.

“8. Make up the butter as is most saleable, and pack it in small packages, lined first with white paper, and then with new and clean muslin previously well rinsed in boiling water and again cooled, &c.”

We often consider the French our inferiors in agricultural matters, but they have built up a position upon butter and cheese which has made two or three departments absolutely wealthy, and they still pursue the system in a most business-like and thrifty manner. We wish we could point to a single English county in which one-half is done with butter that is done in Calvados; but while we are content to grow corn at a loss, and buy our dairy produce at considerably more than we can get it for at home, we shall continue to contribute to the wealth of Normandy and the difficulties which beset the land question at home. Our producers must first break the back of the middleman, and then there will be no such facts existing as the best fresh butter a drug at 11_d._ a lb. in some of our country districts, while it is 1_s._ 10_d._ in London.

Butter, Potting.--The best month of the year in which to pot butter is May, or, at any rate, the business should be completed before the hot weather comes on. If the butter is to be kept for several months, it will be necessary to put a good deal of salt with it; 1 oz. salt to 1 lb. butter will not be found too much. To ensure the proper incorporation of the salt, it is best to add it by small quantities at a time, kneading and re-kneading the butter till the whole is thoroughly mixed. It must then be pressed firmly into wooden tubs, or “kits,” as they are technically called; or stone jars may be used if preferred. It is hardly necessary to add that great care must be taken to have every vessel employed in the preparation as clean and sweet as possible. Another very simple way to preserve butter is to have a good-sized earthenware jar or pan filled with some strong brine, and place it at hand in the dairy. Into the brine put from time to time, as it can be spared, ½ lb. of fresh butter, each piece being folded up separately in thin muslin. The only care required is to be certain that the butter is always thoroughly covered with brine: it will sometimes be necessary to put a weight on the butter, as it has a tendency to rise to the surface when the brine is strong. The butter will keep in this manner for weeks, or even months, and, besides the advantage gained by this plan of being able to take out just as much as is required for use at a time; there is the additional benefit of having preserved fresh butter, as it does not absorb the salt.

Butter, Rancid.--(_a_) Rancid butter may be recovered and sweetened by washing and kneading it well, first in new milk, and afterwards in cold spring water, butyric acid, on which the rancidity depends, being freely soluble in new milk.

(_b_) Let the butter be melted and skimmed as for clarifying; then put into it a piece of bread, well toasted all over. In a minute or two the butter will lose its offensive smell and taste.

(_c_) Beat the butter in a sufficient quantity of water, in which you put 25-30 drops lime chloride to 2 lb. butter. After having mixed it till all its parts are in contact with the water, it may be left in for 1-2 hours, afterwards withdrawn, and washed anew repeatedly in fresh water.

_Cheese._--When milk is curdled, it separates into two portions, curd and whey. The former consists of the butter and casein, and produces cheese; the latter is mainly water, with the sugar and mineral constituents of the milk in solution. Milk for cheese-making, which is more or less rich in cream, according to the kind of cheese, is placed in vats at a temperature varying from about 70° to 85° F., with the due amounts of rennet and colouring matter, for 1-1½ hour under cover. The rennet must be prepared from perfectly fresh (untainted) calves’ veils soaked in soft water--the halves of 1½ veils steeped in ½ gal. water will suffice for 250 lb. of cheese. The best colour is liquid arnatto, ½ fl. oz. to 25 lb. cheese.

As soon as the curd has set, say 1-1½ hour, the curd is “cut” by a special implement and broken up by the hand, a process demanding much skill and care. This completed, the curd is subjected to pressure, with the object of expressing the whey, which latter is drained off. The pressure is increased and judiciously regulated as the curd hardens, so as to remove all the whey without losing any butter. Various appliances are in use for this purpose. When the curd has been thoroughly freed from whey, it is broken up, salted in due proportion, and again submitted to repeated and increasing pressings. Finally it goes into the curing room to ripen.

Rennet.--Rennet is easily made at home, and costs less than half what the same quantity is charged when bought ready-made. Home-made rennet is also much stronger than the bought preparation and is useful in making summer delicacies. Get a calf’s maw from a butcher. They always keep them on hand, and charge about 1_s._ each. Tie the skin tightly at one end, with a double loop of twine, and leave it in a dairy or cool larder. When you want rennet, cut a piece about 1 in. square, and soak it in a teacupful warm water all night. Next day, take out the bit of maw, and to 1 pint cream or milk, use 1 large tablespoonful of the liquid. As a rule, the Gloucestershire cheese-makers do not manufacture their own rennet but buy it ready prepared. The kind generally employed is Hansen’s Patent Rennet Extract, which is used in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful extract to 6 gal. milk.

Cream Cheese.--Take ½ pint very richest cream and a cheese cloth. Pour the cream into the cloth, and lay it upon one of your dairy pans for an hour. Then take a perfectly clean knife and scrape off any cream that may have stuck to the cloth, and lay it on the top and sides of the cheese. Tie it up somewhat loosely, and hang it up to drip; open it from time to time, and remove any cream that has stuck to the cloth, and place it as before. When it stops dripping the cheese is ready, and will turn out easily. The cheese should always be used the same day it is made. In summer a few hours will suffice. If you tell your dairywoman the day before, she will have thicker cream for the cheese by keeping some of the milk that is set for cream 12 hours or more beyond the usual time for ordinary purposes before skimming it. The quantity of cream depends of course on the number of your party; ½ pint is enough for 6-8 people. If the cream be rich and the cheese well made, it will be soft, but without losing its round shape in the least. Though tied up loosely at first, it should be gradually tightened, after being opened from time to time as directed above.

New-milk Cheese.--Mix 4 gal. new milk with a breakfastcupful of salt, and a small teacupful of prepared essence of rennet. The milk should be used warm as it comes from the cow, or, if it has cooled, all or a part of it should be heated again, so that the whole marks about 95°F. The cheese is better if a pint or more of cream is added to the milk, but it is not necessary. The curd and the cheese will be hard if the milk is too hot. After about 2 hours the curd will have set. It should then be slashed across in all directions, and some of the whey ladled out with a cup. Next the curd should be drained in a cloth laid over a colander, and then put into a wooden or tin cheese mould in layers, with salt between. This should not be done until the curd is fairly dry. The mould should be covered and turned every day. Only a very light weight (if any) should be laid over. At the end of 2 weeks the cheese should be put in a muslin bag, and hung up in an airy, dry place, where the sun cannot reach it. Late in the year try half or a third this quantity, as, though there is more waste in a small cheese, it ripens quicker. May and June are the best cheesemaking months. Cheese moulds are generally round or cylinder shaped; but any strong box of wood, with gimlet holes at top, bottom, and sides, and a lid that fits inside and not over (so that as the cheese shrinks it still presses on it), will do for a makeshift.

Rush Cream Cheese.--To 1 pint thick, fresh cream, add ½ pint new milk, warm from the cow, 1 teaspoonful pounded loaf sugar, and 1 tablespoonful rennet. Let it remain near the fire till it turns to curd. Take the curd up with an egg slice, and fill the rush shape, made as directed, and covered with a piece of straining cloth inside. Lay a ¼ lb. weight on a saucer over the curd the first day; afterwards a ½ lb. weight. Change the cloth every day until the cheese is firm and begins to look mellow. Then dispense with the cloths, and return the cheese to the rush shape and leave it to ripen there. It may be ripened more quickly by keeping it from first to last in a tolerably warm room. Although cream cheeses are generally considered to be only in season during the summer, there is no reason why they cannot be as readily made at any time of the year, and of late they have come to be considered an almost indispensable delicacy at a fashionable dinner-table. A little extra trouble is all that is needed to ensure success. The cream and milk must be made rather more than new milk warmth, and if rennet is used, the cream must be covered and put in a warm place until the curd is come. During the whole process the temperature should never be lower than 65°F.

Sage Cheese.--This is made by colouring the milk with juice pressed from young red sage leaves and spinach. It should be added with the rennet to the milk.

Much obscurity has hitherto hung around the natural processes concerned in the development of flavour in cheese. Cheeses of different districts and of different countries possess (apart from mere richness due to the quantity of cream fat contained) each a piquancy characteristic of itself, which the differences in the mode of manufacture appear frequently much too slight to adequately account for. In the cheese-making districts of the Continent, however, this matter has been made the subject of scientific investigations; and already results are forthcoming which throw much light upon the subject. Among these, the researches of Duclaux, at the dairy station at Fau, Cantal, France, deserve particular attention, from the suggestiveness of the conclusions adduced. This _savant_ has succeeded in isolating and in studying the life history of certain microscopic organisms (microbia), in which he recognises the primary agent that is engaged in modifying the constituents of cheese. These organisms are nourished by the casein or curd of the cheese, which they break up into a number of substances of simpler constitution, some of which, like the fatty acids, are characterised by highly piquant qualities. There are several ferments which produce these odorous principles in different proportions, and thus give rise to the differently flavoured cheeses; and the skill of the dairyman largely consists (though he does not know it) in always employing the same ferments or ripening agents, and in preventing other and less desirable organisms from gaining a foothold. Fortunately, in course of time, the useful ferments establish themselves in large quantities in the dairy; they impregnate the air of the factory, and cling to the vessels and the clothing of the operatives. From the moment the milk is drawn, it becomes exposed to the influence of these germs, which, developing rapidly in the warm milk, and becoming entangled in the curd when the rennet is added, accompany it through the operations that follow. On the Continent it appears common to curdle the milk at a much higher temperature than we do. Duclaux speaks of the rennet being frequently added just as the milk comes from the cow; and if it has been allowed to cool, it is warmed up to the natural temperature, 95°-98° F.

In making fine cheeses but little rennet is used, and the coagulation takes a long time. The curd is soft and full of whey, which is drained off slowly and as completely as possible, in order to get rid of the milk sugar. That which is left is chiefly converted into lactic acid, which renders the new cheese slightly acid. Soon, however, the casein ferments begin to develop over the surface of the cheese, giving rise to carbonate of ammonia, which neutralises the acid, and leaves the cheese in the end slightly alkaline. From the living cells of the ferment are at the same time secreted a diastase similar to the active principle which in malt, and in all germinating seeds, converts the starch into sugar. This penetrates the curd little by little, and renders it soluble, and thus a yellow translucent layer creeps gradually inward to the centre, and replaces the white and opaque casein. When isolated, this diastase attacked curd so strongly as to reduce it in 3 or 4 days to the consistency and appearance of Camembert cheese; but, as the flavouring organisms were absent, the resulting product was insipid and tasteless. This action resembles strongly the digestion to which the cheese is afterwards more completely subjected in the body. Indeed, the similarity in properties between this peculiar principle and the ferment of the pancreas is very marked. Simultaneously with the digestive diastase there is also secreted a diastase capable of coagulating the casein; but the cheese maker does not wait for this to be developed, but adds to the milk some rennet, which is a solution containing this diastase in considerable quantity. Such, in short, is the rationale of cheese curing--first, an organised ferment decomposes the curd, and produces in small quantities highly flavoured compounds, which, like a condiment, give relish to the whole mass; and secondly, a diastase, or unorganised ferment secreted by the organism, mellows the curd and renders it more easily soluble.

The conditions most favourable for the exclusive development of these organisms have been learnt by long practice; but should these conditions at any time fail to be observed, some other ferment, incapable of producing the particular kind of ripening wished for, may intrude itself. The chamber is then said to be “sick,” and has sometimes to be temporarily abandoned.

Special members of the yeast and mould families are also largely concerned in the ripening of certain cheeses, and their action is very similar to that mentioned above. Roquefort and Pontgibaud cheeses, for example, are ripened by _Penicillium glaucum_, or, in other words, bread mould. These cheeses are kept as near as possible to 32° F., not because so low a temperature is most favourable to the development of the mould, but because other ferments, and especially such as give rise to putrefaction (vibrios), are thereby checked. From the low temperature and unsuitable soil the ripening is apt to proceed so slowly that it is customary to expedite the fermentation by a liberal inoculation of mouldy bread, and by piercing holes to enable the plant to penetrate inwards.

In Gruyère cheese are found long cells constricted in the middle like an elongated figure of 8. These cells multiply by splitting in two at the constricted part, forming two individuals. A gelatinous layer surrounds each cell when young, and also divides and envelopes the new individuals. This, however, disappears with age, leaving the cell naked. The action of this organism is to resolve any milk sugar that may be present into alcohol, acetic acid, and carbonic acid, and as this latter is a gas, it forms a number of small bubbles in the cheese. Gruyère is a cooked cheese; for in order to hasten the elimination of the whey, and enable the curd to be pressed in the mould as quickly as possible, the curd is heated slowly, and with constant stirring, to about 120° F. This requires considerable care, for if the heating be too rapid, the grains formed are large, and in the press flatten out and adhere to one another, and so clothe the cheese with an impenetrable layer, through which the whey is unable to escape. On the other hand, an undercooked curd is liable to retain an excess of whey; and the evil of this is that too much gas is given off by the fermentation of the sugar, and consequently, instead of bubbles, long channels appear in the cheese, which depreciate the value of the product. Again, as the ferment is killed at a temperature very near 120° F. (varying a little with the acidity or alkalinity of the curd), it is very possible to destroy it by overheating, and then the cheese becomes dry, is difficult to mature, and is said to be “dead.” Under any circumstances the ripening of Gruyère cheese is a very slow process.

In Duclaux’s own district of Cantal, a soft, quickly maturing, uncooked cheese is made, which has the disadvantage of slowly depreciating after ripening, owing to the large quantity of moisture it contains. The practice is to curdle the milk rapidly, and then, while the curd still retains a considerable amount of whey, to allow it to ferment till all the milk sugar has disappeared. On pressing the mass, there is squeezed out a certain amount of liquid and much ferment; but the remainder, equivalent to half the weight of the cheese, is retained, owing to a curious change in the properties of the curd. So obstinately is this held, that, with additional pressure, fat is forced out in preference to water. Duclaux finds, however, that with cheese containing less fat--say, half skimmed and half raw milk--more liquid can be extracted, and thus a better-keeping cheese obtained. As the flavour and odour are derived almost entirely from the alteration products of the casein, the main characteristics of the Cantal cheese are not altered by this modification, and he consequently recommends its adoption.

The most praiseworthy part of Duclaux’s investigations--that on the life history of these organisms, and the isolation and investigation of the diastases secreted by them--is of too scientific a nature to be reproduced here. We may mention, however, that Manelli and Mussi, in their researches on the maturing of Parmesan cheese, have independently come to much the same conclusion as those given above; so there is every reason to consider that we possess now a correct explanation of the phenomena of cheese ripening.

Apart from the interest attached to the explanation of an every-day process, researches such as these are sure in the end to lead to results of direct practical utility. Little by little we are getting to understand that no process of fermentation or putrefaction can be truly called “spontaneous.” They are as much the result of sowing as a thistle that turns up in a field where it was not purposely planted; and just as we can keep our agricultural crops in order by due attention, so crops of ferments can be controlled, the valuable ones being cultivated, and the pernicious weeds sterilised. Methods are known to the vinegar maker by which he can rear, when he needs it, unmixed crops of _Mycoderma aceti_ to ferment his liquors; and the high-class brewer already uses the microscope to ascertain the healthiness of his yeast plant and its freedom from bacteria. May not even cheesemaking, then, be raised from an empirical art into a science, and each cheese factory of the future devote itself knowingly to the cultivation of its own appropriate fungus, learning its likes and its dislikes, and the enemies that have to be contended with? Even the mould sowing of the Roquefort peasants might be improved upon, and pure crops of ferment be raised to inoculate our cheeses. Granted that even then our finest cheeses would not be made better, yet the possibility of raising all cheese to the highest standard of quality of which it is capable is surely sufficient to claim for the scientific experimenter respect and encouragement.

In France there are a variety of cheeses which vary in consistence, constitution, flavour, and ability to keep, and these differences are rather owing to the process of manufacture than to the nature of the soil or the peculiarity of climate. The various denominations applied to them, too, indicate differences in manipulation rather than any change in their matter. Nevertheless, we are far from partaking of the opinion of those who deny that both sun and soil have any influence; for as with wine and cider, so with butter and cheese, the pasture has a marked action upon aroma and quality. If we consider the general manner or process of manufacture, we find that it comprehends five distinct operations, which in France are called: 1st, _coagulation du lait_, or the formation of the curd; 2nd, _rompage_, or breaking up of the curd; 3rd, _égouttage_, or drainage, which is accompanied in some cases by _pressage_ or pressing; 4th, _salaison_, or salting; and 5th, _fermentation_, or maturing of the cheese. It is in the various methods, many of which differ very little from each other, and in all of which these operations are in force, but carried out under different conditions, that it is found possible to make 40 or more varieties of cheese, which are divided into 4 categories; 1st, fresh soft cheese; 2nd, salt ditto ditto; 3rd, firm or medium-pressed ditto; 4th, cured cheese, more or less hard and pressed.

In the first category we have the Neufchâtel, the manufacture of which is extensive and profitable in the district of Bray; the Brie, the Pont l’Evêque, and the Camembert may be mentioned as examples of the second; Roquefort and Dutch of the third; and Gruyère and Parmesan of the fourth.

There are defects to which even the best cheeses are commonly subject--defects, of the causes of which the professed cheese-makers themselves do not always give consistent accounts. Every good cheese should be of uniformly smooth surface, and perfectly firm; of colour unvarying throughout the whole surface, save only where the marks of age, necessary to certain kinds, appear. Softness and soapiness of texture; cracks, attributed by some to the action of lime on pasture, by others to the employment of too strong a draught in the process of drying; and holes, caused by “heaving” or “sweating,” are patent signs of imperfection which should warn the most careless purchaser against the cheese in which any of them are found. “Marbling,” the worst of all faults, is a mottled appearance of the surface, somewhat resembling the veining of marble. It is due to one or more of the following causes: not properly scalding the cheese; adding the colouring (which should be put in before the rennet) after the cheese has come; not properly squeezing out the whey. Wherever this occurs, it imparts to the cheese an exceeding ill flavour--in fact, makes it unfit to be eaten. It is especially dangerous in cheeses of the North Wilts kind, where the surface is invisible to the purchaser. Rankness of flavour, which can of course be guarded against by those who buy their own cheese, is also to be met with in the best kinds. This has been imputed to impurity of rennet; but, as it is frequently found in the cheeses of Scotland, where it is pretended that the greatest care is taken of the rennet, it may possibly also result from bad quality of pasture. In the Scotch dairy farms it is said to be obviated by pouring a very small quantity of saltpetre into the pail before milking the cows.

Following are some remarks on the chief British cheeses, culled from the _Field_.

Cheddar.--The manufacture of this, the king of cheeses, occupies a large tract of country, its head-quarters being at and about Pennard, a few miles from the cliffs of Cheddar in the Mendips. For richness combined with delicacy of flavour, and, indeed, for every good quality that may become a cheese, it is without a rival. None can serve better its purpose at dinner. This cheese is made of circular shape, of large surface, and considerable depth; its price about 13_d._ per lb. at a good cheesemonger’s. It is mostly white, but is occasionally coloured red, for which purpose Nicholl’s “colouring” is used. It is said to make no perceptible difference in the flavour. Cheddar, to be in perfection, must be kept for at least 2 years before being eaten, when it will not show any outward signs of decay. It is said, that the facility of exportation given by railways at present has caused much of this cheese to be moved before it is properly ripe, thereby producing a considerable general deterioration of its quality in the markets. Yet by taking a little pains, and by selection of right places of purchase, the best of it may still be obtained.

Cheshire.--This justly celebrated cheese, though for delicacy of flavour inferior to Cheddar, was, and is still by many good judges, held to be the best of English cheeses. In taste it is a good deal stronger, not to say coarser, than Cheddar, but it is equally rich in substance. Perhaps, owing to its strength, it may be considered as better adapted for dinner than luncheon. It is of large size, and circular in shape. Like Cheddar, it must be kept at least 2 years before eating, and no cheese is more improved by age. It is for the most part made in the county the name of which it bears, though, of course, the general area of its distribution exceeds the limits of that county, and very good specimens of it may be had at some distance beyond the borders. Much of its excellence is, however, said to be imparted by the peculiarity of the soil of Cheshire itself, and by the salt springs with which that soil abounds. At least, wherever such salt springs are most found, the cheese there produced has always been deemed of superior quality. The price of the best quality in London shops is mostly the same as that of Cheddar.

Cottenham.--Some say that it is a much superior cheese to Stilton. In external appearance it closely resembles Stilton, and might easily be mistaken for it. The interior, however, which is of a far richer and creamier texture, is very different. The flavour is fuller, though equally delicate; and although Cottenham, to be really good, requires, like Stilton, to be kept until decay shows itself, yet it is in itself not so insipid but that it may be eaten before that decay is very fully developed. The veins with which it will then be marked are of a brownish hue. It is about the same size as Stilton, or perhaps a little larger, and its price ought to be about the same as the price of that cheese.

Daventry.--A rare cheese of remarkably pleasant flavour, very delicate of taste, and possibly rich of substance. It is of medium size, flat and circular of shape, of whitish colour, and should be marked when fit for eating with veins, somewhat after the manner of Stilton, but of deeper green than is usual with that cheese.

Dorset (Double), or Blue Vinney.--This cheese is generally known throughout a large tract of country, but is in fact a poor enough cheese, and only adapted to make a tolerable luncheon off. It is circular and flat, of white colour, mottled with a network of blue veins; whence its name, though the etymology of the name has disappeared in the popular spelling of it.

Dunlop.--This, the most famous--indeed, the only famous--Scotch cheese, is made in the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Lanark, and Galloway, in various sizes from ¼ to ½ cwt. In texture and taste it somewhat resembles double Gloucester, and, like it, is well adapted for toasting.

Gloucester, Double and Single.--Double Gloucester is also a very rich cheese, but with a certain poverty of flavour, by reason of which it can hardly be recommended for use at dinner, although at luncheon it may not be unacceptable. Its taste is peculiarly mild, and this, combined with its waxy texture, which allows it to be cut into thin slices without crumbling, admirably adapts it for toasting, for which purpose it is, with hardly an exception, the best cheese we possess. It is of circular shape, and generally weighs about 22 lb. The single Gloucester is currently reported to be of the same substance and richness as the double; but in fact, as a rule, is made of far poorer materials, being composed of milk skimmed overnight, or partially thereof; it is also of only about half the weight and thickness. It is fit for nothing but toasting.

Leicester--commonly called in London shops _Derbyshire_--is chiefly made in the county from which it takes it name; it is in shape flat and circular, and very shallow, of moderate size, and coloured a deepish red. It is a good second-rate cheese, and if any one shall desire a serviceable article, whether for luncheon or dinner, very equal in quality and agreeable of taste, let him try Leicester. The price should be 9-10_d._ per lb.

North Wilts.--This, which derives its name from the county of its birth, is a rich and nice little cheese, of a very delicate and agreeable flavour. From the extreme mildness of its taste, it is far fitter for the luncheon than for the dining-table. In shape it is cylindrical, with a smooth hard rind, and weighs about 10-12 lb. It is coloured red with arnatto. The price in London is 10-11_d._ per lb.

Stilton.--At Stilton, in Huntingdonshire, where the coaches of the great north road were wont to stop for luncheon, this cheese was first introduced to the public. Its sole connection with Stilton is its name, the cheese itself having been made in the neighbourhood of Melton Mowbray. Since then it has extended itself over most of the rich lowlands of Leicestershire and a portion of Nottinghamshire. In shape it is cylindrical, the outside covered with a whitish rind, very thick and rough. The flavour of a good Stilton is exquisite, though, perhaps rather cloying as compared with the finer sorts of “plain” cheese. It is unfit to be eaten--indeed, is of a nauseous insipidity--until pretty well covered with blue veins. This will occur in about 2 years, and should be allowed to come on gradually and naturally, by merely keeping the cheese moist enough not to check the decay. Many artifices, however, are resorted to in order to hasten its maturity, as by placing it in a damp but warm cellar; sinking it, wrapped in brown paper, in a hotbed, &c. The practice of pouring port wine into Stilton is condemned by some as at once wasting good wine and spoiling good cheese. Stilton will be found most acceptable both at luncheon and dinner. In size it averages 12 lb., and its price is from 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb. There is, however, no cheese so unequal in quality, whether from accidents to which it is liable during manufacture, or from whatever other cause, and the utmost care must be taken in its purchase.

Subjoined is an account of the best known foreign cheeses, from the same source.

Camembert.--This cheese, which is made in Brittany, is a kind of cross between the “real” and “cream” cheese. It reminds one much of the best privately made cream cheese of our own country, with a rich and peculiar flavour superadded. It is of a soft and creamy texture, of a yellowish white, flat and very shallow, with a dark brown rind, very thick and soft. It may be confidently recommended as a real delicacy, rather for the dinner than the luncheon-table. The price of Camembert cheeses, which are o£ small size, is about 9-10_d._ each.

Cream Cheeses.--In this production the palm must be yielded by the English to the foreign market. Our own cheeses of the kind, including the best of private manufacture, are made to be eaten at once, and will not bear keeping, by which process the Continental cheese, more skilfully put together, is much improved.

The principal foreign cream cheeses are Stracchino (Milan), which is a long way the best; Brie (Meaux), Marolles, and Pont l’Evêque, all very good of their kind, and Neufchatel, which last is, of all, the most commonly met with on this side of the Channel. Neufchatel, frequently called “Bondon,” from being made of the shape and size of the _bondon_ (Ang. “bung”) of a cask, is made at Neufchatel, in Normandy. It is simply a white cream cheese, and when fresh, extremely insipid--in fact, hardly equal to our own Yorkshire and Bath cheeses. By keeping, however, until it becomes “ripe,” it acquires a flavour by no means to be despised, though hardly on a level with some of the cream cheeses already mentioned.

Crême de Brie has been alluded to as once the _crême de la crême_ of cheeses, and even now “running a good second” to Roquefort. La Brie is situated near to Paris, in the Department of Seine et Marne, with proximity, together with the difficulty of distant transport and the fondness of the Parisians for the thing itself, causes the most dainty to be almost entirely eaten in Paris. Imitations of it are many, and, as a rule, as worthless as is the genuine article valuable, for of all the French cheeses it is the most expensive by reason of its not keeping sound beyond a few days, and the large quantities in which it is partaken of at a meal. Brie is a soft, creamy cheese, made in rounds of large size but of little thickness.

Dutch (Holland and Belgium).--This cheese is perhaps better known in kitchens than in the upper regions. It has, however, many good points, and is of by no means disagreeable flavour, though, owing to the process of making, a little too salt for delicate taste. It is also in general very safe, and very equal in quality. Being extremely mild, it is hardly suited to the dinner table, but affords an excellent luncheon. For domestic use it is eminently serviceable, and will be found (which is a great merit) generally acceptable in the kitchen. It is of a spherical oval shape, softish in texture, and coloured red. Its cheapness is also a recommendation, as it costs but 8_d._ or 9_d._ a lb. An imitation of this cheese is made in the district of Calvados, Normandy.

Gorgonzola (North of Italy).--This is an excellent cheese, and one that bears a close resemblance to Stilton. It has, however, so strongly marked and distinct a character of its own, that it would be injurious to institute a comparison between it and any other cheese. In texture and marking it is not altogether unlike Stilton, but is of deeper yellow, and the veins of a greener hue. It is equally good for luncheon and dinner, having great delicacy combined with fulness of flavour. Price about 1_s._ 5_d._ a lb.

Gruyère.--Gruyère is made in the Canton of Fribourg, and in the Vosges, the Jura, and Ain. The best cheeses of this kind are selected for exportation. Gruyère is a flat cheese of some 3 in. in depth, of a pale yellow colour, and plain surface, marked sparsely with large holes, which contain moisture. The rule laid down on the “plain” cheeses of England as to uniformity of colour in the surface of cheese holds good abroad as well as at home, but uniformity of surface in foreign plain cheeses need not be so closely looked for. In fact, the holes that abound in some of these cheeses constitute neither blemish nor unsoundness. The odour of Gruyère is strongish, but the taste mild and delicate. If anything, it is a little cloying. It is a fair cheese, but cannot be called more than fair, for dinner; but will serve very well for luncheon, though perhaps likely to pall on the taste if eaten constantly at this meal. The wholesale price is 11_d._ a lb.

Parmesan (from the district in the North of Italy between Lodi and Cremona) is a finer cheese than Gruyère. The cows from whose milk it is made are kept in the house nearly all the year round, and fed in summer on cut grass, in winter on hay. The process of making both Gruyère and Parmesan is the same, but the quality of the milk considerably differs. Parmesan is of great size, sometimes reaching 180 lb. and is perhaps, of all cheese imported from abroad, the most useful “all round.” It is the only cheese that can be used grated for soup or macaroni. It is the custom of a good many people to supply grated Parmesan as a dinner cheese, but grated cheese, as compared with whole, suffers a certain deterioration of flavour. However this may be, avoid, if the cheese is served whole, the cutting of either this or Gruyère into thin slices, as the manner of some is. Let the cheese have fair play, and its full flavour, which it will not, unless it be cut, like any other cheese, of a reasonable thickness. Parmesan is of a yellowish-green hue, of firm and hard surface, marked by small holes. The time for ripening it properly is about 3 years. When not wanted for use, it should be kept covered with a cloth slightly steeped in sweet oil. The wholesale price is 1_s._ 5_d._ a lb.

Port du Salut.--This cheese is hardly as well-known in England as are the Roquefort and other French cheeses. It is, when fresh, a soft, pasty, mild, most palatable cheese, generally made in round cakes of 5-8 lb. in weight, and stamped with a cross and words showing its place of manufacture.

Roquefort, made in the department of Aveyron, in the south of France, is not only the most highly priced and most highly prized of the cheeses of that country, but a most formidable rival to any of the best cheeses made on the continent, and even to our own more celebrated “fancy” cheeses. It has been likened by some to Stilton; but, beyond a certain similarity of surface texture, the two have not much in common. They are, moreover, made of very different matter, Roquefort being composed of sheep and goats’ milk intermixed. Its peculiar excellence is said to be due to the natural qualities of the cellars wherein it is placed for ripening, and partly also from the manner of milking the sheep in making it. It should be kept until considerable progress of decay has been made. It is of very delicate though rather pungent flavour, and, if it lacks something of the softness and mellowness of the Stilton, will be found equally agreeable with it, at least at the dinner table. For luncheon Stilton has the preference. Its wholesale price per lb. is 1_s._ 5_d._

Schabzieger.--This cheese is of spherical shape, of size somewhat larger than a cricket ball, with a dark thick rind. Its colour is yellow, with green veins. It is of a strong odour, and, unlike Gruyère, of an equally strong and rank taste. There is no doubt of its power to fulfil one purpose of cheese, the annihilation of the taste of anything you may have previously eaten, and for this it will be found to do good and useful service. It is a deservedly popular delicacy. The price of each cheese is about 8_d._ See also p. 1002.

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

John Darton: ‘The Dairyman: a Practical Guide to Cow-keeping, and the Making of Butter and Cheese.’ London. 1872. 1_s._

Willis P. Hazard: ‘Butter and Butter-making, with the Best Methods for Producing and Marketing it.’ Philadelphia. 1877.

H. M. Jenkins: ‘Hints on Butter-making.’ London. 1886. 6_d._

J. P. Sheldon: ‘Dairy Farming.’ London. 1_l._ 11_s._ 6_d._

Canon Bagot: ‘Easy Lessons in Dairying.’ London, 1883. 6_d._

The _Field._ London. Weekly. 6_d._

_THE CELLAR._

A great mistake is sometimes made in ventilating cellars. The object of ventilation is to keep the cellar cool and dry; but this object often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be ventilated, unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within, or is at least as cool as that, or a very little warmer. The warmer the air, the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air, the more this moisture is condensed and precipitated. When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in motion appears cool, but as it fills the cellar the cooler air with which it becomes mixed chills it, the moisture is condensed, and dew is deposited on the cold walls, and may often be seen running down them in streams. Then the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To avoid this, the windows should only be opened at night, and late--the last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night air is unhealthful--it is as pure as the air of midday, and is really drier. The cool air enters the apartment during the night, and circulates through it. The windows should be closed before sunrise in the morning, and kept closed and shaded through the day. If the air of the cellar is damp, it may be thoroughly dried by placing in it a peck of fresh lime in an open box. A peck of lime will absorb about 7 lb. or more than 3 qt. of water, and in this way a cellar may soon be dried, even in the hottest weather.