Fig. 19.—Draining mat for Camembert cheese. have raised edges and slope slightly toward the wall. Whey and wash water are thus carried to a draining trough along the wall. For cheese-making, each is covered with a strip of matting consisting of wooden strips held together by thread ([Fig. 19]). The strip of matting should be exactly the width and length of the table. The hoops used are heavy tin, with edges turned and soldered, about 5 inches high, 4⅝ inches in diameter with three rows of holes about ⅟12 inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the row. These hoops are placed as thickly as possible upon the mats.
147. Outline of making process.—The making process[51] is summarized as follows (Thom, 1909):
Starter.—From 0.5 to 1.0 per cent of active starter is added to milk kept overnight below 60°F.
Acidity at renneting.—Milk titrated to phenolphthalein should test 0.20 to 0.23 per cent calculated as lactic acid.
Temperance of renneting.—84°-86° F. is used for Camembert.
Rennet.—From 3 to 5 oz. of standard rennet extract to 1000 lb. milk (10-15 c.c. per 100 lb. milk) produces a curd of proper texture.
Curdling time.—To reach the proper condition for handling, 1¼ to 1½ hours or longer is required. This is indicated by the onset of "sweating" or the separation of large drops of whey on the surface of the solid curd.
Dipping.—A long-handled dipper is used to transfer curd from cans to hoops. This can be lowered into the hoop. This transfer is to be done with the least possible breaking. One dipperful is transferred at a time to each of a series of hoops. By the time the series is covered, some drainage has occurred and a second dipperful is added to the contents of the hoop. In this way the hoop is filled within a period of two to four hours.
Draining.—Hoops when properly filled have taken in approximately 2 quarts of milk each. No pressure is used. Cheeses drain by gravity. They stand unturned until the following morning when they should be firm enough to permit turning without removing the hoops. The cheeses when firm enough to handle (usually on the third morning) are salted by dusting the entire surface with coarse salt and permitting all that adheres to remain. The cheeses should then be removed to a room at about 58°F. to prevent too rapid leakage of water and salt from their surfaces. Ripe cheeses of good quality show a total salt-content varying from 2.25 to 3 per cent with an average of about 2.5 per cent. When so handled there is slight, if any, loss of water and salt in the salting period of twenty-four to forty-eight hours. At the end of the salting period such cheeses should carry 55 to 57 per cent water or slightly more.