Part 32

Cheese differs vastly in quality and flavor according to the method employed in its manufacture and the richness of the milk of which it is made. Much depends upon the quantity of cream it contains, and, consequently, when a superior quality of cheese is desired cream is frequently added to the curd. This plan is adopted in the manufacture of Stilton cheese and others of a like description. The addition of a pound or two of butter to the curd for a middling size cheese also vastly improves the quality of the product. To insure the richness of the milk, not only should the cows be properly fed, but certain breeds chosen. Those of Alderney, Cheddar, Cheshire, etc., have been widely preferred.

The materials employed in making cheese are milk and rennet. Rennet is used either fresh or salted and dried; generally in the latter state. The milk may be of any kind, according to the quality of the cheese required. Cows’ milk is that generally employed, but occasionally ewes’ milk is used; and sometimes, though more rarely, that from goats.

In preparing his cheese the dairy farmer puts the greater portion of the milk into a large tub, to which he adds the remainder, sufficiently heated to raise the temperature to that of new milk. The whole is then whisked together, the rennet or rennet liquor added, and the tub covered over. It is now allowed to stand until completely “turned,” when the curd is gently struck down several times with the skimming dish, after which it is allowed to subside. The vat, covered with cheese cloth, is next placed on a “horse” or “ladder” over the tub, and filled with curd by means of the skimmer, care being taken to allow as little as possible of the oily particles or butter to run back with the whey. The curd is pressed down with the hands, and more added as it sinks. This process is repeated until the curd rises to about two inches above the edge. The newly formed cheese, thus partially separated from the whey, is now placed in a clean tub, and a proper quantity of salt, as well as of annotta, added when that coloring is used, after which a board is placed over and under it, and pressure applied for about 2 or 3 hours. The cheese is next turned out and surrounded by a fresh cheese cloth, and then again submitted to pressure in the cheese press for 8 or 10 hours, after which it is commonly removed from the press, salted all over, and again pressed for 15 to 20 hours. The quality of the cheese especially depends on this part of the process, as if any of the whey is left in the cheese it rapidly becomes bad-flavored. Before placing it in the press the last time the common practice is to pare the edges smooth and sightly. It now only remains to wash the outside of the cheese in warm whey or water, to wipe it dry, and to color it with annotta or reddle, as is usually done.

The storing of the newly made cheese is the next point that engages the attention of the maker and wholesale dealer. The same principles which influence the maturation or ripening of fermented liquors also operate here. A cool cellar, neither damp nor dry, and which is uninfluenced by change of weather or season, is commonly regarded as the best for the purpose. If possible, the temperature should on no account be permitted to exceed 50° or 52° F. at any portion of the year. An average of about 45° F. is preferable when it can be procured. A place exposed to sudden changes of temperature is as unfit for storing cheese as it is for storing beer. “The quality of Roquefort cheese, which is prepared from sheep’s milk, and is very excellent, depends exclusively upon the places where the cheeses are kept after pressing and during maturation. These are cellars, communicating with mountain grottoes and caverns which are kept constantly cool, at about 41° to 42° F., by currents of air from clefts in the mountains. The value of these cellars as storehouses varies with their property of maintaining an equable and low temperature.”

It will thus be seen that very slight differences in the materials, in the preparation, or in storing of the cheese, materially influence the quality and flavor of this article. The richness of the milk; the addition to or subtraction of cream from the milk; the separation of the curd from the whey with or without compression; the salting of the curd; the collection of the curd, either whole or broken, before pressing; the addition of coloring matter, as annotta or saffron, or of flavoring; the place and method of storing; and the length of time allowed for maturation, all tend to alter the taste and odor of the cheese in some or other particular, and that in a way readily {176} perceptible to the palate of the connoisseur. No other alimentary substance appears to be so seriously affected by slight variations in the quality of the materials from which it is made, or by such apparently trifling differences in the methods of preparing.

The varieties of cheese met with in commerce are very numerous, and differ greatly from each other in richness, color, and flavor. These are commonly distinguished by names indicative of the places in which they have been manufactured, or of the quality of the materials from which they have been prepared. Thus we have Dutch, Gloucester, Stilton, skimmed milk, raw milk, cream, and other cheeses; names which explain themselves. The following are the principal varieties:

«American Factory.»—Same as Cheddar.

«Brickbat.»—Named from its form; made, in Wiltshire, of new milk and cream.

«Brie.»—A soft, white, cream cheese of French origin.

«Cheddar.»—A fine, spongy kind of cheese, the eyes or vesicles of which contain a rich oil; made up into round, thick cheeses of considerable size (150 to 200 pounds).

«Cheshire.»—From new milk, without skimming, the morning’s milk being mixed with that of the preceding evening’s, previously warmed, so that the whole may be brought to the heat of new milk. To this the rennet is added, in less quantity than is commonly used for other kinds of cheese. On this point much of the flavor and mildness of the cheese is said to depend. A piece of dried rennet, of the size of a half-dollar put into a pint of water over night, and allowed to stand until the next morning, is sufficient for 18 or 20 gallons of milk; in large, round, thick cheeses (100 to 200 pounds each). They are generally solid, homogeneous, and dry, and friable rather than viscid.

«Cottenham.»—A rich kind of cheese, in flavor and consistence not unlike Stilton, from which, however, it differs in shape, being flatter and broader than the latter.

«Cream.»—From the “strippings” (the last of the milk drawn from the cow at each milking), from a mixture of milk and cream, or from raw cream only, according to the quality desired. It is usually made in small oblong, square, or rounded cakes, a general pressure only (that of a 2- or 4-pound weight) being applied to press out the whey. After 12 hours it is placed upon a board or wooden trencher, and turned every day until dry. It ripens in about 3 weeks. A little salt is generally added, and frequently a little powdered lump sugar.

«Damson.»—Prepared from damsons boiled with a little water, the pulp passed through a sieve, and then boiled with about one-fourth the weight of sugar, until the mixture solidifies on cooling; it is next poured into small tin molds previously dusted out with sugar. Cherry cheese, gooseberry cheese, plum cheese, etc., are prepared in the same way, using the respective kinds of fruit. They are all very agreeable candies or confections.

«Derbyshire.»—A small, white, rich variety, very similar to Dunlop cheese.

«Dunlop.»—Rich, white, and buttery; in round forms, weighing from 30 to 60 pounds.

«Dutch (Holland).»—Of a globular form, 5 to 14 pounds each. Those from Edam are very highly salted; those from Gouda less so.

«Emmenthaler.»—Same as Gruyère.

«Gloucester.»—Single Gloucester, from milk deprived of part of its cream; double Gloucester, from milk retaining the whole of the cream. Mild tasted, semi-buttery consistence, without being friable; in large, round, flattish forms.

«Green or Sage.»—From milk mixed with the juice of an infusion or decoction of sage leaves, to which marigold flowers and parsley are frequently added.

«Gruyère.»—A fine kind of cheese made in Switzerland, and largely consumed on the Continent. It is firm and dry, and exhibits numerous cells of considerable magnitude.

«Holland.»—Same as Dutch.

«Leguminous.»—The Chinese prepare an actual cheese from peas, called tao-foo, which they sell in the streets of Canton. The paste from steeped ground peas is boiled, which causes the starch to dissolve with the casein; after straining the liquid it is coagulated by a solution of gypsum; this coagulum is worked up like sour milk, salted, and pressed into molds.

«Limburger.»—A strong variety of cheese, soft and well ripened.

«Lincoln.»—From new milk and cream; in pieces about 2 inches thick. Soft, and will not keep over 2 or 3 months. {177}

«Neufchâtel.»—A much-esteemed variety of Swiss cheese; made of cream, and weighs about 5 or 6 ounces.

«Norfolk.»—Dyed yellow with annotta or saffron; good, but not superior; in cheeses of 30 to 50 pounds.

«Parmesan.»—From the curd of skimmed milk, hardened by a gentle heat. The rennet is added at about 120°, and an hour afterwards the curdling milk is set on a slow fire until heated to about 150° F., during which the curd separates in small lumps. A few pinches of saffron are then thrown in. About a fortnight after making the outer crust is cut off, and the new surface varnished with linseed oil, and one side colored red.

«Roquefort.»—From ewes’ milk; the best prepared in France. It greatly resembles Stilton, but is scarcely of equal richness or quality, and possesses a peculiar pungency and flavor.

«Roquefort, Imitation.»—The gluten of wheat is kneaded with a little salt and a small portion of a solution of starch, and made up into cheeses. It is said that this mixture soon acquires the taste, smell, and unctuosity of cheese, and when kept a certain time is not to be distinguished from the celebrated Roquefort cheese, of which it possesses all the peculiar pungency. By slightly varying the process other kinds of cheese may be imitated.

«Sage.»—Same as green cheese.

«Slipcoat or Soft.»—A very rich, white cheese, somewhat resembling butter; for present use only.

«Stilton.»—The richest and finest cheese made in England. From raw milk to which cream taken from other milk is added; in cheeses generally twice as high as they are broad. Like wine, this cheese is vastly improved by age, and is therefore seldom eaten before it is 2 years old. A spurious appearance of age is sometimes given to it by placing it in a warm, damp cellar, or by surrounding it with masses of fermenting straw or dung.

«Suffolk.»—From skimmed milk; in round, flat forms, from 24 to 30 pounds each. Very hard and horny.

«Swiss.»—The principal cheeses made in Switzerland are the Gruyère, the Neufchâtel, and the Schabzieger or green cheese. The latter is flavored with melitot.

«Westphalian.»—Made in small balls or rolls of about 1 pound each. It derives its peculiar flavor from the curd being allowed to become partially putrid before being pressed. In small balls or rolls of about 1 pound each.

«Wiltshire.»—Resembles Cheshire or Gloucester. The outside is painted with reddle or red ocher or whey.

«York.»—From cream. It will not keep.

We give below the composition of some of the principal varieties of cheese:

Double Cheddar Gloucester Skim Water 36.64 35.61 43.64 Casein 23.38 21.76 45.64 Fatty matter 35.44 38.16 5.76 Mineral matter 4.54 4.47 4.96 ────── ────── ────── 100.00 100.00 100.00

Stilton Cotherstone Water 32.18 38.28 Butter 37.36 30.89 Casein 24.31 23.93 Milk, sugar, and extractive matters 2.22 3.70 Mineral matter 3.93 3.20 ────── ────── 100.00 100.00

Gruyère Ordinary (Swiss) Dutch Water 40.00 36.10 Casein 31.50 29.40 Fatty matter 24.00 27.50 Salts 3.00 .90 Non─nitrogenous organic matter and loss. 1.50 6.10 ────── ────── 100.00 100.00

When a whole cheese is cut, and the consumption small, it is generally found to become unpleasantly dry, and to lose flavor before it is consumed. This is best prevented by cutting a sufficient quantity for a few days’ consumption from the cheese, and keeping the remainder in a cool place, rather damp than dry, spreading a thin film of butter over the fresh surface, and covering it with a cloth or pan to keep off the dirt. This removes the objection existing in small families against purchasing a whole cheese at a time. The common practice of buying small quantities of cheese should be avoided, as not only a higher price is paid for any given quality, but there is little likelihood of obtaining exactly the same flavor twice running. Should cheese become too dry to be {178} agreeable, it may be used for stewing, or for making grated cheese, or Welsh rarebits.

«Goats’ Milk Cheese.»—Goats’ milk cheese is made as follows: Warm 20 quarts of milk and coagulate it with rennet, either the powder or extract. Separate the curds from the whey in a colander. After a few days the dry curd may be shaped into larger or smaller cheeses, the former only salted, the latter containing salt and caraway seed. The cheeses must be turned every day, and sprinkled with salt, and any mold removed. After a few days they may be put away on shelves to ripen, and left for several weeks. Pure goat’s milk cheese should be firm and solid all the way through. Twenty quarts of milk will make about 4 pounds of cheese.

CHEESE COLORANT: See Food.

CHEMICAL GARDENS: See Gardens, Chemical.

CHERRY BALSAM: See Balsam.

CHERRY CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.

«Chewing Gums»

«Manufacture.»—The making of chewing gum is by no means the simple operation which it seems to be. Much experience in manipulation is necessary to succeed, and the published formulas can at best serve as a guide rather than as something to be absolutely and blindly followed. Thus, if the mass is either too hard or soft, change the proportions until it is right; often it will be found that different purchases of the same article will vary in their characteristics when worked up. But given a basis, the manufacturer can flavor and alter to suit himself. The most successful manufacturers attribute their success to the employment of the most approved machinery and the greatest attention to details. The working formulas and the processes of these manufacturers are guarded as trade secrets, and aside from publishing general formulas, little information can be given.

Chicle gum is purified by boiling with water and separating the foreign matter. Flavorings, pepsin, sugar, etc., are worked in under pressure by suitable machinery. Formula:

I.—Gum chicle 1 pound Sugar 2 pounds Glucose 1 pound Caramel butter 1 pound

First mash and soften the gum at a gentle heat. Place the sugar and glucose in a small copper pan; add enough water to dissolve the sugar; set on a fire and cook to 244° F.; lift off the fire; add the caramel butter and lastly the gum; mix well into a smooth paste; roll out on a smooth marble, dusting with finely powdered sugar, run through sizing machine to the proper thickness, cut into strips, and again into thin slices.

II.—Chicle 6 ounces Paraffine 2 ounces Balsam of Tolu 2 drachms Balsam of Peru 1 drachm Sugar 20 ounces Glucose 8 ounces Water 6 ounces Flavoring, enough.

Triturate the chicle and balsams in water, take out and add the paraffine, first heated. Boil the sugar, glucose, and water together to what is known to confectioners as “crack” heat, pour the syrup over the oil slab and turn into it the gum mixture, which will make it tough and plastic. Add any desired flavor.

III.—Gum chicle. 122 parts Paraffine 42 parts Balsam of Tolu. 4 parts Sugar 384 parts Water 48 parts

Dissolve the sugar in the water by the aid of heat and pour the resultant syrup on an oiled slab. Melt the gum, balsam, and paraffine together and pour on top of the syrup, and work the whole up together.

IV.—Gum chicle 240 parts White wax 64 parts Sugar 640 parts Glucose 128 parts Water 192 parts Balsam of Peru 4 parts Flavoring matter, enough.

Proceed as indicated in II.

V.—Balsam of Tolu 4 parts Benzoin 1 part White wax 1 part Paraffine 1 part Powdered sugar 1 part

Melt together, mix well, and roll into sticks of the usual dimensions.

Mix, and, when sufficiently cool, roll out into sticks or any other desirable form. {179}

Spruce Chewing Gum.—

Spruce gum 20 parts Chicle 20 parts Sugar, powdered 60 parts

Melt the gums separately, mix while hot, and immediately add the sugar, a small portion at a time, kneading it thoroughly on a hot slab. When completely incorporated remove to a cold slab, previously dusted with powdered sugar, roll out at once into sheets, and cut into sticks. Any desired flavor or color may be added to or incorporated with the sugar.

CHICKEN-COOP APPLICATION: See Insecticides.

CHICKEN DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES: See Veterinary Formulas.

CHICORY, TESTS FOR: See Foods.

CHILBLAINS: See Ointments.

CHILBLAIN SOAP: See Soap.

CHILDREN, DOSES FOR: See Doses.

CHILLS, BITTERS FOR: See Wines and Liquors.

CHINA CEMENTS: See Adhesives and Lutes.

CHINA: See Ceramics.

CHINA, TO REMOVE BURNED LETTERS FROM: See Cleaning Preparations and Methods, under Miscellaneous Methods.

CHINA REPAIRING: See Porcelain.

«CHINA RIVETING.»

China riveting is best left to practical men, but it can be done with a drill made from a splinter of a diamond fixed on a handle. If this is not to be had, get a small three-cornered file, harden it by placing it in the fire till red hot, and then plunging it in cold water. Next grind the point on a grindstone and finish on an oilstone. With the point pick out the place to be bored, taking care to do it gently for fear of breaking the article. In a little while a piece will break off, then the hole can easily be made by working the point round. The wire may then be passed through and fastened. A good cement may be made from 1 ounce of grated cheese, 1⁠/⁠2 ounce of finely powdered quicklime, and white of egg sufficient to make a paste. The less cement applied the better, using a feather to spread it over the broken edge.

CHLORIDES, PLATT’S: See Disinfectants.

CHLORINE-PROOFING: See Acid-Proofing.

«CHOCOLATE.»

Prepare 1,000 parts of finished cacao and 30 parts of fresh cacao oil, in a warmed, polished, iron mortar, into a liquid substance, add to it 800 parts of finely powdered sugar, and, after a good consistency has been reached, 60 parts of powdered iron lactate and 60 parts of sugar syrup, finely rubbed together. Scent with 40 parts of vanilla sugar. Of this mass weigh out tablets of 125 parts into the molds.

«Coating Tablets with Chocolate.»—If a chocolate which is free from sugar be placed in a dish over a water bath, it will melt into a fluid of proper consistence for coating tablets. No water must be added. The coating is formed by dipping the tablets. When they are sufficiently hardened they are laid on oiled paper to dry.

CHOCOLATE CASTOR-OIL LOZENGES: See Castor Oil.

CHOCOLATE CORDIAL: See Wines and Liquors.

CHOCOLATE EXTRACTS: See Essences and Extracts.

CHOCOLATE SODA WATER: See Beverages.

CHOKING IN CATTLE: See Veterinary Formulas.

«CHOLERA REMEDIES:»

«Sun Cholera Mixture.»—

Tincture of opium 1 part Tincture of capsicum 1 part Tincture of rhubarb 1 part Spirit of camphor 1 part Spirit of peppermint 1 part

«Squibb’s Diarrhea Mixture.»—

Tincture opium 40 parts Tincture capsicum 40 parts Spirit camphor 40 parts Chloroform 15 parts Alcohol 65 parts {180}

«Aromatic Rhubarb.—»

Cinnamon, ground 8 parts Rhubarb 8 parts Calumba 4 parts Saffron 1 part Powdered opium 2 parts Oil peppermint 5 parts Alcohol, q. s. ad. 100 parts

Macerate the ground drugs with 75 parts alcohol in a closely covered percolator for several days, then allow percolation to proceed, using sufficient alcohol to obtain 95 parts of percolate. In percolate dissolve the oil of peppermint.

«Rhubarb and Camphor.—»

Tincture capsicum 2 ounces Tincture opium 2 ounces Tincture camphor 3 ounces Tincture catechu 4 ounces Tincture rhubarb 4 ounces Spirit peppermint 4 ounces

«Blackberry Mixture.—»

Fluid extract blackberry root 2 pints Fluid ginger, soluble 5 1⁠/⁠3 ounces Fluid catechu 5 1⁠/⁠3 ounces Fluid opium for tincture 160 minims Brandy 8 ounces Sugar 4 pounds Essence cloves 256 minims Essence cinnamon 256 minims Chloroform 128 minims Alcohol (25 per cent), q. s. ad. 1 gallon

CHOWCHOW: See Condiments.

CHROME YELLOW, TEST FOR: See Pigments.

CHROMIUM GLUE: See Adhesives.

«CHROMO MAKING.»

The production of chromo pictures requires a little skill. Practice is necessary. The glass plate to be used should be washed off with warm water, and then laid in a 10 per cent solution of nitric acid. After one hour, wash with clean, cold water, dry with a towel, and polish the plate with good alcohol on the inside—hollow side—until no finger marks or streaks are visible. This is best ascertained by breathing on the glass; the breath should show an even blue surface on the glass.

Coat the unmounted photograph to be colored with benzine by means of wadding, but without pressure, so that the retouching of the picture is not disturbed. Place 2 tablets of ordinary kitchen gelatin in 8 3⁠/⁠4 ounces of distilled or pure rain water, soak for an hour, and then heat until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Pour this warm solution over the polished side of the glass, so that the liquid is evenly distributed. The best way is to pour the solution on the upper right-hand corner, allowing it to flow into the left-hand corner, from there to the left below and right below, finally letting the superfluous liquid run off. Take the photograph, which has been previously slightly moistened on the back, lay it with the picture side on the gelatin-covered plate, centering it nicely, and squeeze out the excess gelatin solution gently, preferably by means of a rubber squeegee. Care must be taken, however, not to displace the picture in this manipulation, as it is easily spoiled.