Cream Cheese. (No. 1.)
3 pints of cream, with a teaspoonful of salt put in after it sours.
An empty salt-box, and ¼ yard of very stout, coarse lace.
Knock top and bottom out of one of the small boxes used for holding table-salt, and cleanse the broad and the narrow rims remaining, thoroughly. When dry, fit over the bottom of the box itself a piece of new strong net lace, or mosquito-netting. Fasten it in place by pressing down over it the rim of the top. The net should be drawn tightly and smoothly. Tack both rim and net to the outside of the box with small tacks driven through the former, leaving the heads protruding, that they may be easily withdrawn. This is your cheese-press. If you can get a small wire sieve with coarse meshes, it will save you trouble. The cream should have been set aside until it thickens or “loppers,” in a solid curd. Inside of your mould lay a piece of clean white tarletane, fitted neatly to the sides and bottom, and projecting all around above the press. Pour in the cream, opening the flakes gently with a spoon to allow the whey to reach the bottom of the press, but do not stir it. Set the mould upon two slender sticks laid on a bowl, and let it drip two days. If the mould will not hold all the cream, add it during the first day, as the curd sinks. By the third day it will be a rich, smooth mass. If not quite firm, trim down the round board you took out of the top, cover the cheese with a thin cloth, and press the board firmly upon it. Lay a weight on this—not heavy enough to break the net—and leave for some hours longer. A saucer or small plate will do almost as well as the board. When the cheese is ready to eat, which will be when it is firm, remove the oil from the top by laying a piece of blotting or tissue paper upon it, and lift from the mould by taking hold of the projecting edges of cloth. It will be found very nice. This is the famous English cream cheese.