Rose. A sour juice that is made by boiling a part of the inside of a calf. We put a little rennet to the milk, which makes it part into curds and whey. This thick white part is the curd, and the thin watery part is called whey.
Arthur. Is that the whey people take for a cold?
Rose. No. That kind of whey is made with wine instead of rennet; but the curd parts just in the same manner as this.
Charles. I will ask our Sally to let me look at it the next time she makes whey. But why do you break it?
Rose. That there may be no lumps. Wait a little, if you please, and you shall see how I go on.
She then took a large round bag made of coarse cloth, into which she put all the curd, and pressed it with very heavy weights in order to squeeze out as much of the whey as she could. This done, she turned it out of the bag into a vat which has holes like a cullender, and, leaving it to drain, then told them the cheese was finished.
“I did not know,” said Charles, “it was so easy to make cheese. But what is the rind, pray?”
“’Tis the same as the rest,” replied Rose; “only, being left to the air, it grows hard in time.” Then leading them into another room, she showed them a great number of cheeses; some were still soft, having been lately made; others, that had been longer kept, were grown quite hard.
“What is the whey good for?’ asked Charles, as they came back through the dairy.