As they are called, are made in various ways. One pound of sour milk is mixed with five pounds of boiled potatoes and a little salt, and the whole is beat into a pulp, which, after
standing five or six days, is worked up again, and then dried in the usual way. Others mix three parts of dried boiled potatoes with two of fresh curd, or equal weights, or more curd than potato, according to the quality required. Such cheeses are made in Thuringia, in Saxony, and in other parts of Germany. In Savoy, an excellent cheese is made by mixing one of the pulp of potatoes with three of ewe-milk curd; and in Westphalia, a potato cheese is made with skimmed milk.
Preparation of Rennet.
Rennet is prepared from the salted stomach or intestines of the sucking calf, the unweaned lamb, the young kid, or even the young pig. In general, however, the stomach of the calf is preferred, and there are various ways of curing and preserving it.
The stomach of the newly killed animal contains a quantity of curd derived from the milk on which it has been fed. In most districts, it is usual to remove by a gentle washing the curd and slimy matters which are present in the stomach, as they are supposed to impart a strong taste to the cheese. In Cheshire, the curd is frequently salted separately for immediate use. In Ayrshire and Limburg, on the other hand, the curd is always left in the stomach and salted along with it. Some even give the calf a copious draught of milk shortly before it is killed, in order that the stomach may contain a larger quantity of the valuable curd.
Salting the Stomach.
In the mode of salting the stomach, similar differences prevail. Some merely put a few handfuls of salt into and around it, then roll it together, and hang it near the chimney to dry. Others salt it in a pickle for a few days, and then hang it up to dry; while others pack several of them in layers, with much salt both within and without, and preserve them in a cool place, till the cheese-making season of the following year. They are then taken out, drained from the brine, spread upon a table, sprinkled with salt which is rolled in with a wooden roller, and then hung up to dry. In some foreign countries, the recent stomach is minced very fine, mixed with salt and bread into a paste, put into a bladder, and then dried. In Lombardy, the stomach, after being salted and dried, is minced and mixed up with salt, pepper, and a little whey or water into a paste, which is preserved for use.
In whatever way the stomach or intestine of the calf is prepared and preserved, the almost universal opinion seems to be, that it should be kept for 10 or 12 months, before it is capable of yielding the best and strongest rennet. If newer than 12 months, the rennet is thought to make the cheese heave or swell, and become full of eyes or holes.