One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

Making the Cheese on a Larger Scale

To make cottage cheese in considerable quantities and of good, uniform quality, especially if it is to be sold, it is desirable to follow a more exact method than that described for making small quantities for home use.

Setting

For natural souring without starter, fresh skim milk is placed in a clean pail or a “shotgun” can, covered, warmed to 75° F., and allowed to stand at that temperature until curdled. The temperature can be controlled by keeping the pail or can of milk in a tub, sink, or other vessel filled with water at the same temperature.

When starter is used it is stirred into skim milk which has been warmed to 75° F. ([Fig. 2].) The vessel of milk then is covered and set away at the same temperature to curdle. The quantity of starter used varies from 1 to 5 per cent; a pint for 3 or 4 gallons of milk usually gives good results. By the use of a large quantity of starter it is possible to ripen the milk and complete the making of the cheese in one day. Probably it is more convenient, however, to set the milk with starter at night, in which case the milk should be firmly clabbered by morning. For obtaining a desirable coagulum or curd that is firm and not easily broken into fine particles during heating, 75° F. seems to be the best temperature. When the skim milk has coagulated into a firm, solid curd which gives a sharply defined break as the finger is inserted, with whey collecting at the break, the curd is ready for cutting.

Cutting, Heating, and Stirring

The coagulum, or curd, is cut crosswise into 2-inch squares, with a long-bladed knife. The mixture then is heated quickly to 100° F. and is maintained at that temperature for about 30 minutes. During the entire heating process the curd is stirred with a spoon or a cream agitator every four or five minutes. The object of these operations is to remove the whey from the curd and to bring the product into a concentrated form. The texture of the cheese is regulated in a large measure by the manner of cutting, heating, and stirring the coagulum. Prolonged and vigorous stirring of the mixture is undesirable, since it causes a fine-grained curd which is slow in draining and has excessive curd losses in the whey. Heating at too high a temperature results in a tough, dry curd.

Fig. 4.—Raising and lowering draining cloth to hasten draining.

Draining

After heating, the mixture is poured upon a draining cloth, which is fastened over a pail or a specially constructed rack, in order to separate the curd from the whey. (See [fig. 3].) The curd is allowed to drain undisturbed for 15 or 20 minutes, because if handled during that period it will tend to become mushy, a condition which renders the removal of the whey very difficult. Later, every few minutes, the sides of the cloth should be raised and lowered several times (as shown in [fig. 4]), which hastens draining. Draining should continue until very little whey separates upon standing, at which time the curd is rather soft and smooth. It is then ready for salting.

Salting

For salting, the curd is placed in a pan or pail and salt added and mixed uniformly into the curd with a butter ladle or a spoon. The usual rate of salting is two heaping tablespoonfuls to 3¹⁄₂ gallons of milk, or about 2¹⁄₂ ounces to 10 pounds of curd, although there is some difference of opinion as to the quantity of salt needed. In case a scale is lacking it is possible to approximate the salt when it is known that a level tablespoonful of salt equals two-thirds of an ounce. Salt is added to the cheese to increase its palatability and to a certain extent to preserve it.