The Book of Cheese

by Charles Thom; W. W. Fisk

The weigh-stand, and its efficient location, is a matter of extreme importance. It is elevated a little above the remainder of the floor to allow gravity to do the work. The next most important equipment is the press and draining table. The table is made of wood or stone, and has a slight slope to allow the whey to drain off. The press is generally a jack screw which, braced against a beam, will exert an enormous pressure on the table below.

Swiss cheeses are made in two styles, the "round" or drum and the "block" or rectangular forms, each of which has its advantages. For the round style, which is most commonly made, the forms for hooping are of metal or of elm wood, and consist of strips of a given width, generally six inches, but of an undetermined length. These strips are then made into a circle and held by a cord, which is easily lengthened or shortened, thus varying the diameter of the hoop.

Besides these hoops, cheese boards or followers are needed. These are heavy circular boards, of a size to fit that of the cheese generally made, and are banded with iron around the edge and cross-braced on the bottom for rigidity. The small tools of the factory consist of knives to cut the curd, and of a "Swiss harp" or other similar tool to stir the curd. Many clean bandages are also needed, and a kettle brake.

267. The milk.—Swiss cheese requires clean sweet milk. Dirt, high acid and infections with undesirable bacteria involve difficulties of manufacture and frequent losses of cheese. One common practice rejects milk if it shows acidity above 0.15 per cent. To secure milk in this condition, factories are small and located so close to the producing farms as to secure 1000 to 3000 pounds of milk delivered warm from the cow twice a day. The cheese is made twice daily from this fresh milk. If, however, milk is properly cared for, it is possible to mix night's and morning's milk without bad results. In fact, in working experimentally with high grade milk and taking precautions against loss of fat, it has been necessary to skim (separate) part of the milk, thus reducing the ratio of fat to casein. Analysis of good Swiss cheeses shows that the desired texture is more uniformly obtained with milk in which the fat is less than the normal ratio. This assumes that the manufacturing loss is kept down so that the fat removed offsets the extra loss from curd-breaking.

268. Rennet extract.—Most Swiss cheese-makers prefer to make their own rennet extract from the stomach. This results in a product which is not uniform in strength and so requires good judgment to secure the desired coagulation in the allotted time. Some cheese-makers roll fifteen to twenty well salted calves' stomachs together and dry them. From this they cut off a definite amount each day to be soaked for twenty-four hours in two to five quarts of whey at 86° F. Four quarts of this solution added to 2000 pounds of milk at 90° F. should produce a curd ready for cutting in twenty to thirty minutes.

269. Starter.—Makers do not agree as to the use of "starters" for Swiss cheese. Those opposed to such use say that a starter will give the cheese a decided Cheddar flavor, while those in favor of it state that it will control undesirable fermentations, and that, with the use of a starter, it is possible to make Swiss cheese throughout the year, and have uniform success.

Doane,[122] working with Bacillus Bulgaricus as a starter, found that these starters did not always overcome the undesirable fermentations. If a cheese-maker is having difficulty to develop the holes or "eyes," this may be overcome by making a starter[123] as follows from good cheese and whey or milk: Select a cheese which has the desirable "eyes" or holes and a good flavor. Grind up some of this and add about ¼ of a pound to one gallon of milk or whey. Hold this for twenty-four hours at a warm temperature (85° to 90° F.). Strain it into the vat of milk just before the rennet is added.

270. The making process.—The milk is delivered twice a day without cooling. It usually reaches the factory at a temperature of 92° to 96° F. It is strained into the kettle, and starter and rennet added at the same temperature as received. (For method of adding rennet, see [Chapter V.]) Enough rennet should be used to give a coagulation ready for cutting in twenty to thirty minutes. The firmness of the curd is tested by inserting the index finger in an oblique position, then raising it slightly and with the thumb of the same hand starting the curd to break or crack. When the curd is coagulated ready for cutting, it will give a clear break over the finger.

It is important to keep the temperature uniform while coagulation is in process, and this is best accomplished by the use of a little pan arrangement which fits into the top of the kettle. When this is full of water at 100° F., the temperature of the air above the milk will be about 90° F. When the curd is ready for cutting, a scoop may be used and the top layer carefully turned under to equalize the temperature more closely.

Cutting the curd.—In some cheese factories, knives resembling Cheddar cheese knives are employed to cut the curd. In other factories, a "Swiss harp" is used to break the curd. The curd is usually cut or broken into pieces about the size of kernels of corn. The practice of "breaking" curd instead of cutting it with sharp curd-knives produces excessive loss at times. Experimental study has shown that the loss of fat may be kept as low as 0.3 per cent if modern curd-knives are substituted for the breaking tool formerly used. Study of Swiss cheeses of all grades supports the opinion that the removal of a small part of fat from usual grades of factory milk produces a better quality of product than the use of rich whole milk. This may be accomplished through the escape of fat in the whey on account of breaking the curd and stirring it vigorously, or by skimming a part of the milk which is then curdled, cut and stirred under such conditions as to minimize the loss of fat.