CHAPTER XII
CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING
Cheddar is the best known cheese throughout the United States and the one most commonly made in factories. The Cheddar process was brought to America by English immigrants. Similar to Cheddar cheese are Pineapple, English Dairy, Sage cheese, skimmed-milk and California Jack cheese made in this country, and Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Wensleydale and Cheshire made in England. The Cheddar cheese process as employed in the factories to-day has been modified and improved since it was first introduced into this country by the early immigrants. The following description[87] includes only the practices as found in the factories to-day if whole milk is used. Skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese is discussed later.
Fig. 29.—Delivering milk to the cheese factory.
192. The lot-card.—The Cheddar process involves several hours of manipulation and includes many details which should be closely and accurately observed and recorded. The necessity of carrying observations of several different factors at the same time makes a scheme of recording data essential to convenient work. For this purpose, a lot-card for Cheddar cheese is introduced here and the pages given to particular factors are indicated in the space intended for the recording of observations. The manufacture of Cheddar cheese is a complicated process, because several factors must be given attention at the same time. A careful record of the observations of each step in the successive handling of each lot of milk puts the operator in possession of a permanent record of his experience. This record has several uses. It may help to convince patrons of the importance of eliminating faults in the milk; it furnishes the cheese-maker a cumulative record of his experiences in handling milk with special qualities, such as high or low fat-content, over-acidity or taints. Since Cheddar ripening covers a period of weeks and months, no operator can remember particular lots of milk sufficiently well to be able to use his experience on the interpretation of the qualities found in the ripened product.