About the year 1853, a gentleman residing near Rome, Oneida county, N. Y., Jesse Williams by name, conceived the idea of manufacturing his neighbors’ milk in common with his own. This is the first known instance of manufacture in this country by associated dairies, although the method was previously in vogue in Switzerland. I quote from an old report: “It required a long time to create the demand which now exists in England for American cheese, and to Herkimer county, New York, belongs the credit of creating it and securing the trade. It was mainly effected by bringing a high degree of skill to bear upon the manufacture generally, thus producing not only a good article, but uniformly good, or as near uniform as is possible when made in different families. Cheese had been sent abroad in small amounts for many years, but when once by good quality and uniformity it had secured a firm foothold, the amount exported increased with astonishing rapidity. By gradual growth it had come to nine million pounds in 1859, in 1860 it amounted to twenty-three millions, in 1861 to forty millions, and the demand and supply have steadily increased ever since. It is a noteworthy fact that systematic attempts to improve the manufacture of cheese began to be made both in Somersetshire, England, and in Herkimer county, New York, about the same time; and also, that with no knowledge on the part of either of the progress made by the other, after lengthened experiments, both should have adopted substantially the same method; for it is a fact that the Cheddar and Herkimer methods so closely resemble each other that the only differences of any consequence are such as necessarily grow out of the difference of climate. Their process differs from most methods mainly in two particulars; first, in employing milk which has attained a proximate degree of acidity, although never enough to be sensible to the taste, instead of such as is quite new; and, second, in the separation of the whey from the curd by causing its contraction and precipitation, instead of depending mainly on mechanical means. The improvements thus introduced within a comparatively recent period have resulted in several important advantages: First, a material reduction of labor; second, the production of a larger amount and a better quality of cheese from a given quantity of milk; and, lastly, the cheese made by this method requires less time for the ripening process, and thus is sooner ready for the market.
Utensils Necessary to Stock a Factory.
A boiler of moderate capacity, with fittings complete; milk vats with steam pipes and connections; patent galvanized iron cheese hoops; a gang press; weigh can with large gate; milk conductor to convey the lacteal fluid from the weigh can to the cloth strainer over the vat; common sized scales that will weigh at least 600 pounds; small sized scales for weighing cheese; two curd knives, one with horizontal and the other with perpendicular blades; large wheel with crank and endless rope for hoisting milk; two stone rennet jars of a capacity of ten gallons each; two thermometers, one for the make and the other for the curing-room; jar for keeping annottoine; syphon and tin strainer for drawing whey from the vat; a self-salting curd mill—a curd mill is now indispensable to a factory, and a self-salting one is indispensable where only one man is employed; rubber mop, curd broom and floor broom; milk book for keeping accurate account of all business transacted in the establishment, including daily receipts of milk from patrons; a set of glass tubes in a case, for testing milk as to the amount of cream it contains and comparing its state of maturity; two water pails and one curd pail; a heavy curd scoop; two dippers, one of three and the other of six quarts capacity; glass graduated jar and lactometer for testing milk to locate water—be sure and purchase a lactometer gauged for trying milk at 80° Fahrenheit, many being gauged for 60° Fahrenheit, and of little use in hot weather unless you have ice handy to chill the milk designed for the test; stencils, case and brush for dating cheese and branding boxes; tin funnel for conveying whey from the vat to the outside tank; curd rake for agitating the product when cooking; a cheese tryer; a curd sink is not now strictly essential, although some makers still prefer to use one.
In glancing over the above list we will mention some of the articles that can be supplemented by utensils of a more primitive and cheaper make. Such a retrograde change is not, however, desirable, although sometimes in a small factory where the receipts to the manufacturer are limited, strict economy has to be practiced in order to leave a margin of profit. With economists of necessity the boiler can be discarded and an old-fashioned under-heater vat, with a hot water tank attached, made to do service. I know of dozens of small factories throughout Central New York who get along admirably with such apparatus. In the matter of press and hoops you can do better without the gang press than you can without the patent hoops. Remember that it is no economy to go back to the primitive hoop that makes necessary the hand bandaging of every cheese. If obliged to go without the gang press, get hoops that can be bandaged before the curd is put in them, so that two cheese can be pressed under one screw in an old-fashioned press. In such a case wooden followers would be required. One pair of scales can be got along with at a pinch, although two pairs would save a great deal of transferring and extra work. Do not get along with one curd knife—you need both the horizontal and the perpendicular, in order to cut the raw curd evenly and economically. A crane can take the place of a large wheel for hoisting milk if you consider it more convenient. Keep rennet in nothing but stone jars or vessels and keep at least ten gallons always prepared ahead. Jugs are often used for annottoine, although an open jar admits of easy dipping and accurate measurement. Have your tinner make you a long, narrow gill cup, to which should be soldered an upright six-inch handle with a shepherd’s crook in the end. Use the cup for measuring out the coloring; the long handle, which can be hung by the crook on the inside of the jar, precludes soiling the hands, clothing and floor with the scarlet dye. A curd mill of some sort is positively necessary in order to facilitate good, even stock; do not leave one out of the list of apparati under any consideration. I prefer a self-salting mill, not only on account of the ease with which curd can be ground but also for its superior mechanism in thoroughly mixing the salt into the curd as fast as it is torn by the teeth. In grinding curd with a common machine, the torn shreds quickly re-amalgamate into an almost solid mass that often requires harsh manipulation to separate. Then, again, the salt being sprinkled by hand over the outer surface of the freshly-torn curd sears and burns it before it can be worked into the mass. With a self-salter, the saline condiment is equally distributed through all parts at the proper limit of acid formation, thus preventing the curd from packing solidly and making the quality even and fine.