CHAPTER XVIII

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA

Just when the first cheese was made is not known. By the time the first immigrants came to America, cheese-making was rather generally known in Europe, so that the early settlers brought with them and practiced established methods. The countries of Europe developed different kinds of cheese and have since become noted for such particular varieties, for example: France, Camembert and Roquefort; Switzerland, Swiss cheese; England, Stilton and Cheddar; Germany, Limburger; Holland, Edam and Gouda; Italy, Parmesan and its allies, also Gorgonzola cheese. The manufacture of these various cheeses has been attempted in this country. Because of the difference in climatic conditions and in some cases the use of milk of sheep or goats, it was and still is difficult to manufacture some of the European cheeses in America. Since the climatic conditions of this country and certain parts of England are somewhat similar, the manufacture of the cheeses of England predominated, and there was also more information on their manufacture. These are probably the reasons why the United States and Canada have become famous for Cheddar cheese.

The first cheeses of the Cheddar group were made on the farms. The work was usually performed by women, and the process was very simple. The methods were crude, and the cheeses were made in a more or less haphazard way. The milk of the evening was placed in a cheese tub in the dairy room and cooled to a temperature that would prevent souring. In most cases the cream that had raised to the surface of the night's milk was removed in the morning. This was considered an act of economy, for it was thought that in the process of manufacture it would all pass off in the whey and be lost. The morning's milk was then mixed with that of the evening and warmed to the setting temperature by placing a portion in a tin pail and suspending it in a kettle of hot water. When hot, it was emptied into the tub of cold milk. By transferring back and forth, the setting temperature was finally reached. Few of these settlers owned thermometers. Consequently, cheese-makers were obliged to depend on the sense of feeling to determine temperature.

One of the serious difficulties of the early manufacture was the production of rennet of a uniform strength. After the addition of the rennet and as soon as the coagulated milk became firm enough, it was broken into as small pieces as could be conveniently made, a wooden knife being used for the purpose. After standing ten minutes it was stirred by hand, breaking the pieces finer, and the temperature was gradually brought to 98° F., aiming as near blood heat as could be judged by the sense of feeling. It was kept at this temperature until the moisture was out of the curd and it would squeak between the teeth. The whey was drawn off and the curd stirred until dry, salted and put to press. All the curd of one day was made into a cheese. This resulted in small uneven-sized cheese. Since such cheeses were made from the milk of single dairies with all the surroundings clean, the flavor was usually good but the texture was open and soft. The method of caring for the cheese and marketing was entirely different from that practiced at the present time. All the cheeses made during the entire season were held until fall and marketed at one time. They were packed in casks four to six in a package, one on top of the other. The earliest date when single boxed cheeses were on the market was 1841.

Between 1820 and 1840, a small export trade in cheese was started. As this demand for cheese increased, particularly in England, it became necessary to change the methods employed in manufacture. The farm dairy cheese was rather an open-textured sweet curd product. If not, it was due more to accident than to any intention of the cheese-maker to improve the quality. One of the early complaints from England was that the cheeses were too small and uneven in size. The practice of making on the farm continued until about 1851, when the factory system was started, although home manufactures continued after that time. Following are the reasons for the change from the farm to factory system: (1) England demanded larger cheese; (2) the farm product was not uniform; (3) the quality of the farm cheese did not suit the English trade; (4) factories saved much labor on the farms; and (5) could secure higher prices.

297. The factory system.—Where and by whom the first Cheddar cheese factory in America was started is not definitely known. Jesse Williams of Oneida County, New York, is supposed by many to have been the first to build and operate under the factory system, in 1851. Cheese factories were opened in Ohio and Wisconsin about 1860. In the period 1860 to 1870, a large number of cheese factories were built in the various states, especially New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.

298. Introduction of factory system in Canada.—In 1863, Harvey Farrington of Herkimer, New York, was so impressed with the opportunity of developing the cheese factory system in Canada that he sold out his business in New York and established the first Canadian cheese factory in the town of Norwich, Ontario. It was accepted at once by Canadian farmers, and factory cheese-making increased rapidly. In 1866, a small quantity of cheese was exported and from that time the export trade of Canada has been large and growing. Ontario and Quebec are now the leading provinces in the production of cheese.

299. Introduction of cheddaring.—The factories at first used the same process as the farms, namely the stirred-curd process. In 1867, Robert McAdam introduced the English Cheddar system in a factory near Herkimer, New York. This is the Cheddar system as known to-day. It produces the closer bodied cheese demanded by the export trade. This introduction made Herkimer County famous for its cheese.

300. Introduction of Swiss and Limburger.—In 1870, factories for Limburger, Swiss and Brick cheese were started and have gradually increased. In New York such plants are located around Boonville in Oneida County, and Theresa, in Jefferson County. In Wisconsin, Swiss cheese-making was begun by a colony of Swiss who came to New Glarus, Green County. It is now made in Green, Lafayette, Iowa, Grant, Dane and Rock counties. Limburger and Brick are manufactured in Dodge, Fond du Lac, Winnebago, Marathon, La Crosse, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Clark, Washington, Dunn, Barron and Lincoln counties. In the southeastern part of Ohio Swiss cheese is produced. Ohio and Wisconsin have manufactured more of these cheeses, especially Swiss, than any other states. This is probably due to the fact that the conditions are more nearly like those of Switzerland.

When the cities in New York began to grow, an increased demand for market milk was felt. The result was that the dairy-men could not supply both the cities and the cheese factories with milk. A large part of the cheese was being exported and most of it had always been partly skimmed. The amount of skimming, therefore, was largely increased. Then other animal fats were substituted for the milk-fat. This product was known as "filled" cheese. The delay in controlling the practice of making skimmed-milk and filled cheese ruined the export trade. In Canada laws prohibited the making of filled cheese and as a consequence Canadian Cheddar cheese is still very popular in England. However, with the control of skimmed-milk cheese-making and the elimination of filled cheese, the volume continued to grow and to find outlet in local consumption. New York probably exported more cheese than any other state. Wisconsin shipped cheese into other regions, especially the southern states in which no cheeses were made. Some Wisconsin cheeses were shipped to the New York market from time to time, but in October, 1913, the first quotations[133] were made in New York City for Wisconsin products.

301. Number and distribution of cheese factories.—The following list and maps (Figs. 65, 66) compiled in 1914 by the United States Department of Agriculture Dairy Division, show the number of cheese factories in the different states and their location:

Fig. 65.—Map showing the distribution of cheese factories in the principal cheese-producing states.

Arizona3New Hampshire2
California93New York995
Colorado8North Dakota3
Connecticut2Ohio111
Delaware1Oklahoma1
Illinois50Oregon42
Indiana13Pennsylvania106
Iowa25South Dakota1
Kansas1Utah8
Maine5Vermont35
Michigan196Virginia3
Minnesota74Washington15
Missouri4West Virginia1
Montana1Wisconsin1720
Nebraska1 ——
3520

302. Total production of cheese in the United States.—The following figures (Table XX) compiled by the United States Census show the total production of cheese and the amount made on farms and in factories in the United States by ten-year periods: