117. The factory.—Neufchâtel factories require the standard dairy equipment for receiving, weighing, testing, separating, heating, pasteurizing and cooling the milk. Since many factories produce several products, the same general dairy equipment may serve for all. In addition to such equipment, Neufchâtel requires a curdling apparatus which can be held at 70-75° F. This may be a room properly controlled, or a tank where temperature control is obtained by water and steam. For draining, a room kept at 60° F. gives nearly the ideal temperature, which must be supplemented by relative humidity high enough to prevent the exposed surface of curd from drying during periods of twelve to twenty-four hours. This requires almost a saturated atmosphere. A room with special molding machinery is required and tables for wrapping, labeling and boxing the product are necessary. Box-making machinery is usually an economic necessity for work on a large scale. Adequate refrigeration is requisite both to chill the curd before molding and to preserve it after packaging.
Fig. 13.—Neufchâtel draining racks.
118. Cans.—For curdling, the "shot-gun" can, about nine inches in diameter and twenty inches deep, is generally used. This holds thirty to forty pounds of milk. Increased capacity is dependent, therefore, on the number of units installed, not on changes in the units themselves.
119. Draining racks.—A draining rack is required for each can of curd. These racks also are standardized units whose number
Fig. 14.—Detail of a Neufchâtel draining rack. limits the capacity of the factory. The design of these racks (Figs. 13, 14) and their arrangement in the draining room are taken from Bulletin 78 of the Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station: "The racks are rectangular, thirteen inches wide, thirty-six inches long and ten inches deep. The corner posts extend one and one-half inches beyond the strips at top and bottom with the tops rounded as a rule as seen in the photograph. The bottom slats fit loosely into notches, hence are removable for washing purposes. The materials required are four corner posts one and one-half by one and one-half inches; nine strips one by three-eighths by thirty-six inches; six strips one by three-eighths by thirteen inches, two strips one by three-eighths by twelve and a quarter inches, notched to receive the bottom slats; all made from pine."
120. Cloths.—For each draining rack, a cloth one yard wide and one and one-half yards long is required. Cotton sheeting is satisfactory for the purpose; "even-count, round-thread, unmercerized voile" is suggested by Dahlberg.[36]