butter is undoubtedly obtained, the quality and flavor of which will depend a good deal on the peculiar properties of the milk. The milk of Galloways, Ayrshires and Alderneys, so treated, makes excellent

butter.

6322. In the process of churning great nicety is required; a regular stroke in plunge or pump churns, and a regular motion in those of the barrel or turning kind, must, if possible, never be deviated from. A few hasty irregular strokes or turns has been known to spoil what would otherwise have been excellent butter. Twamley (Essays on the Dairy) recommends the selection of a churner of a cool phlegmatic temper, of a sedate disposition and character; and advises never to allow any individuals, especially the young, to touch the churn without the greatest caution and circumspection. To those who have been accustomed to see cream churned without being properly prepared, churning may, perhaps, appear to be severe labor for one person in a large dairy: but nothing is more easy than the process of making butter, where the cream has been duly prepared. 6323. The best time for making butter, during summer, is early in the morning, before the sun acquires much power and if a pump churn be used, it may be plunged a foot deep into a tub of cold water, where it should remain during the whole time of churning; which will very much harden the butter. During winter, from the equality of temperature, which (if it be properly managed) will generally prevail in a dairy, it will very rarely, if ever, be necessary to churn near the fire. Should any circumstance, however, require this, care should be taken not to churn so near the fire as to heat the wood; as it would impart a strong rancid taste to the butter. As soon as the butter is made, it must be separated from the milk, and be put into a clean dish; the inside of which, if of wood, should previously be well rubbed with common salt, to prevent the butter from adhering to it. The butter should then be pressed and worked with a flat wooden ladle or skimming-dish, having a short handle, so as to press out all the milk that may be lodged in the cavities of the mass. A considerable degree of dexterity, as well as of strength, is requisite in this manipulation: for, if the milk be not entirely removed, the butter will infallibly spoil in a short time; and, if it be much worked, the butter will become tough and gluey, which greatly debases its quality In some places it is the practice to beat up the butter with two flat pieces of board, which may, perhaps, answer very well. In this operation, some persons pour cold water upon the butter, for the purpose of washing it: this practice, however, is not only useless, for the butter can be perfectly cleared of the milk without it; but it is also pernicious, and debases the quality of the butter in an astonishing degree Nothing is so detrimental in a dairy, as water improperly used; which, if mixed in any way, either with milk or butter, tends greatly to debase the quality of the latter.

6324. The making up of butter is the next process. Before being sent to table or market, sweet or fresh butter is made up into various forms, sometimes in rolls or cylinders, six or eight inches long, and from half an inch to two inches in diameter, at other times in small round figures, or casts, with impressions in relief from butter moulds. When the butter is too soft for the last purpose, it may be put into small wooden vessels, which may be allowed to swim in a tub or cistern of cold water; or they may be set in an ice-house for an hour or two, or the water in which the small vessels float may be iced. At all events, whatever mode is adopted, no water ought to be allowed to touch the butter. When formed into the desired shapes it may be placed in dishes, and set in the margin of the central cistern of water till wanted.

6325. In salting or curing butter the use of wooden vessels is preferable. These should previously be rendered as clean and sweet as possible, well rubbed with salt, and the cavity between the bottom and sides filled in with melted butter. An excellent composition for preserving butter may be made, by reducing into a fine powder, and carefully mixing together, sugar and nitre, of each one part, and two parts of the best common salt. Of this composition, one ounce should be thoroughly mixed with every sixteen ounces of butter, as soon as the latter has been freed from the milk; and the butter must be immediately put into the firkin, being pressed so close, as to leave no air-holes, or any kind of cavities within it. The surface must be smoothed; and, if a day or two be expected to elapse before more can be added, the vessel must be closely covered up with a piece of clean linen, upon which should be laid a piece of wetted parchment, or (if this be not procurable) with a piece of fine linen dipped in melted butter, that is exactly fitted to the edges of the vessel, all round, so as to exclude the air as much as possible. When more butter is to be added, these coverings are to be removed; the butter is to be applied close upon the former layer, pressing it down, and smoothing it as before, till the vessel be full. The two covers are then to be spread over it with the greatest care; and a little melted butter is to be poured all round the edges, so as to fill up every part, and effectually to exclude the air. A little salt may then be strewed over the whole, and the cover be firmly fixed down. Butter thus cured does not taste well till it has stood at least a fortnight after it has been salted; but after that period, it acquires a rich marrowy taste, and will continue perfectly sweet in this climate for many years. As, however, its quality is liable to be impaired by being im properly treated while it is using, it will be necessary, when the firkin is opened, first to pare off a small portion of the whole surface, especially near the edges, in case the air should, by any accident, not have been entirely excluded. If it is to be quickly consumed, it may be taken up as it is wanted, without any other precaution than that of keeping it carefully covered up; but, on the contrary, if it is to be used very slowly, and if the person employed to take it up, be not very careful in closing it up each time with the covers, the part which is thus exposed to the air, will be liable to contract a small degree of rancidity. To prevent the occurrence of this inconvenience, when the vessel

is opened, a strong brine of common salt (strong enough to float an egg) should be poured, when cold, upon the surface of the butter; and although the quality of the latter will be slightly injured by the action of the water upon it, yet that is a much less evil, than the slightest rancidity would occasion.

6326. When butter is to be exposed to the heat of a warm climate, it should be purified by melting before it is salted and packed up. For this purpose, let it be put into a proper vessel, and this be iminersed into another containing water. Let the water be heated till the butter be thoroughly melted: let it continue in this state for some time, when the impure parts will subside, leaving at the top a perfectly pure transparent oil. This, when it cools, will become opaque, and assume a color nearly resembling that of the original butter, being only somewhat paler, and of a firmer consistence. When this refined butter is become a little stiff, but while it is still somewhat soft, the pure part must be separated from the dregs, and be salted and packed up in the same manner as other butter; it will continue sweet much longer in hot climates, as it retains the salt better than in its original state. It may also be preserved sweet, without salt, by adding to it a certain portion of fine honey, perhaps one ounce to a pound of butter, and mixing them together thoroughly, so that they may be perfectly incorporated. A mixture of this sort has a sweet pleasant taste, and will keep for years without becoming rancid: there is no doubt, therefore, but that butter might thus be preserved in long voyages without spoiling.

6327. As winter made butter is mostly pale or white, and, at the same time, of a poorer quality than that made during the summer months, the idea of excellence has been associated with the yellow color: hence various articles have been employed in order to impart this color; those most generally used, and certainly the most wholesome, are the juice of the carrot, and of the flowers of the marigold, carefully expressed and strained through a linen cloth. A small quantity of this juice (and the requisite proportion is soon ascertained by experience) is diluted with a little cream, and this mixture is added to the rest of the cream when put into the churn. So small a quantity of the coloring matter unites with the butter, that it never imparts to it any particular taste.

6328. The butter most esteemed in London is that of Epping and Cambridge; the cows which produce the former feed during summer in the shrubby pastures of Epping forest, and the leaves of the trees, and numerous wild plants which there abound are supposed to improve the flavor of the butter. It is brought to market in rolls from one to two feet long, weighing a pound each. The Cambridgeshire butter is produced from the milk of cows that feed one part of the year on chalky uplands, and the other in rich meadows or fens; it is made up into long rolls like the Epping butter, and generally salted, not cured, before brought to market. By washing it, and working the salt out of it, the London cheesemongers often sell it at a high price for fresh Epping butter. 6329. The Suffolk and Yorkshire butter is often sold for that of Cambridgeshire, to which it is little inferior. The butter of Somersetshire is thought to equal that of Epping; it is brought to market in dishes, containing half a pound each, out of which, it is taken, washed, and put into different forms by the buttermen of Bath and Bristol. The butter of Gloucestershire and of Oxfordshire is very good; it is made up in half pound packs or prints, packed up in square baskets, and sent to the London market by waggon.

6330. The butter of the mountains of Wales and Scotland, and the moors, commons, and heaths of England is of excellent quality, when it is properly managed; and though not equal in quantity, it often is confessedly superior to that produced from the richest meadows. Bad butter is more frequently the result of mismanagement, want of cleanliness, and inattention, than of any other cause. Ireland would produce the finest butter in the empire, were it not for the intolerably filthy state of their cows, and the want of cleanliness in their dairies.

6331. In packing fresh butter, or butter salted only for immediate use, the leaves of cabbage, white beet, or of the garden orache (Atriplex hortensis) are to be preferred. The bottomofthe basket should be bedded with a thick cloth, folded two or three times; then a thin gauze, dipped in cold water, spread over it, on which the prints or rolls of butter are to be placed, each with one or more leaves beneath, and smaller ones over it. The lowermost layer being adjusted, fold half of the gauze cloth over it, put in another layer in the same way, and then cover with the remainder of the gauze. The butter should be put into the basket, as well as taken from thence, without being touched.

6332. Whey butter, as its name implies, is butter made from the whey which is taken from the curd, after the milk is coagulated for the manufacture of cheese. It is chiefly made in those counties where cheese is manufactured, and where it forms no inconsiderable part of the profits of the dairy. In the county of Derby, more butter is said to be made from whey than from the cream of milk, or from milk churned altogether.

6333. Whey is divided into two sorts, green and white, the former escaping readily from the curd, while the latter is freed from it by means of pressure. "There are different methods of extracting the whey. In some dairies the whole whey, when taken from the cheese tub, is put into pails or other vessels, where it remains for about twenty-four hours; when it is creamed, and the whey is applied to the use of calves and pigs, which are said to thrive as well on it, after the cream has been taken from it as before. The cream, when skimmed off the whey, is put into a brass pan and boiled, and afterwards set in pans or jars, where it remains till a sufficient quantiiy for a churning be procured, which, in large dairies, happens generally once, but sometimes twice in the week."

6334. Butter forming an important article of commerce as well as food, the legislature has passed various statutes respecting its package, weight, and sale. The principal of

these are the 36th and 38th of Geo. III.

SECT V. Of the Process of Cheese-making.

6335. The production of cheese includes the making of rennet, the selection of a color. ing matter, the setting of the curd, and the management of the cheese in the press.

6336. The milk fresh drawn from the cow is to be immediately strained into the dishes or shallow troughs, if these are used, in order to promote cooling, as the surest guard against fermentation. The same object may be attained by repeatedly drawing off the milk from the coolers, and pouring it back again.

6337. To understand what rennet is and its uses it is necessary to premise that milk is no sooner taken into the stomach, than it becomes curdled by the operation of the gastric juice, as every one who has seen much of infant children must have observed. What is called rennet is nothing more than the stomach of an animal in which the gastric juices are preserved by means of salt. The application of any kind of acid will cause milk to coagulate, as well as the infusion of several plants, as ladies' bedstraw (Galium verum), butter-wort (Pinguicula vulgaris), and others. With the former plant the Jews coagulate the milk for all their cheese; the Mosaic law prohibiting them to mingle meat with milk, and rennet they consider as meat. The maw or stomach of ruminating animals, which admit of obtaining the gastric juice in a less mixed state than those of others, and chiefly of a young calf that has been killed before the digestion is perfected, is almost universally preferred as rennet. This bag or maw is cleaned and salted in different ways in different districts; but the following method described by Marshal in his Rural Economy of Norfolk, is considered as one of the best. "Take a calf's bag, maw, or stomach; and having taken out the curd contained therein, wash it clean, and salt it thoroughly inside and out, leaving a white coat of salt over every part of it. Put it into an earthen jar, or other vessel, and let it stand three or four days; in which time it will have formed the salt and its own natural juice into a pickle. Take it out of the jar, and hang it up for two or three days, to let the pickle drain from Re-salt it, place it again in a jar, cover it tight down with a paper, pierced with a large pin, and in this state let it remain till wanted for use. In this state it ought to be kept twelve months; it may, however, in case of necessity, be used a few days after it has received a second salting; but it will not be so strong as if kept a longer time."

it.

6338. In order to prepare this rennet for use, Marshal gives the following directions; "Take a handful of the leaves of sweet-briar, the same quantity of the leaves of the dog rose, and the like quantity of bramble leaves; boil them in a gallon of water, with three or four handfuls of salt, about a quarter of an hour; strain off the liquor, and, having let it stand till perfectly cool, put it into an earthen vessel, and add to it the maw, prepared as above To this is added, a good sound lemon, stuck round with about a quarter of an ounce of cloves, which give the rennet an agreeable flavor."

6339. The strength of the rennet thus prepared will increase in proportion to the length of time during which the bag remains in the liquor; the quantity to be used for the purpose of coagulating milk can, therefore, be ascertained only by daily use and occupation. In general, however, it may be stated, upon the average, that somewhat less than half a pint of wine measure, will suffice for fifty gallons of milk, for which quantity, in Gloucestershire, the practice is to employ about one third of a pint. Throughout the whole process of preparing and preserving rennet, too much attention cannot be given to its cleanliness and sweetness; for if it be kept too long, so as to become foul or tainted, the cheese will invariably become affected by it, and will prove unfit for use. 6340. In Holland a small quantity of the muriatic acid is used instead of rennet ; and it is the use of this article which gives to the Dutch cheese that pungent relish, which induces so many persons to prefer it. 6341. Coloring matter. As cheese in its native state, that is, such as is well manufactured, being put together in proper time, the milk being of a proper degree of warmth, and in all other respects properly pressed, salted, and dried, is uniformly of a bright yellow cast, the idea of excellence is generally attached to cheese of such a color. Hence it has become necessary for the dairyman, who would dispose of his cheese to advantage, to impart a light yellow orange color to it by artificial means. Formerly, turmeric, marigolds, hawthorn buds, and other vegetables, were employed for this purpose; but these have long since been rejected for the Spanish Arnotto, which is unquestionably the best ingredient of the kind that can be used for the coloring of cheese. It is a preparation of the roucon or arnotto tree (Bixa orellana, Lin. fig. 204.), which is a native of America. The red pulp, that covers the seeds of this tree, is suspended in hot water, and allowed to subside, and when dry, is formed into cakes or balls, which are further set aside, until they become completely dry and firm. One ounce of this substance, when genuine, will be sufficient to color an hundred weight of cheese; and this is the common allowance in the county of Gloucester; in Cheshire, the weight of a guinea and a half, is considered to be sufficient for a cheese of sixty pounds weight. The usual mode of applying the arnotto is, to dip a piece, of the requisite size and weight, in a bowl of milk, and rub it on a smooth stone, until the milk assume a deep red color. This infusion is to be added to the milk, of which cheese is intended to be made, in such a quantity as will impart to the whole a bright orange color, which will

become the deeper in proportion to the age of the cheese. The mixing of the arnotto in no respect affects either its taste or smell.

6342. In the county of Cheshire, however, a somewhat different practice obtains. There, when the color. ing matter is wanted, it is usual to tie up as much of the substance as may be deemed sufficient, in a linen rag; and putting it into half a pint of warm water, to let it stand over night. In the morning, im. mediately before the milk is coagulated, the whole of this infusion is mixed with it in the cheese-tub, and the rag is dipped in the milk, and rubbed on the palm of the hand, until all the coloring matter is completely extracted. A more simple method is directed by Parkinson: “Take," says he," a piece about the size of a hazel nut, put it into a pint of milk the night before you intend to make cheese, and it will dissolve. Add it to the milk at the time the rennet is put in. The quantity will suffice to color a cheese of twenty pounds weight." (Parkinson on Live Stock, vol. i. p. 62.)

6343. Setting the curd. The proper season for making cheese is from the beginning of May till the close of September, or, in favorable seasons till the middle of October. Very good cheese, however, may be made in winter, provided the cows be well fed. A certain elevation of temperature is requisite to the coagulation of milk, and it may natur. ally be supposed to be nearly that of the stomachs of milk-taking animals. Marshal is of opinion that from 85 to 90 degrees of heat, and two hours of time are the fittest for coagulation. Climate, season, weather, and pasture may require that these limits should sometimes be violated. Milk produced from poor clays will require to be coagulated at a higher temperature than that which is procured from rich pastures. In some dairies the milk is heated to the proper temperature; but the most approved practice is to mix boiling water in such a proportion as shall render the milk of a proper degree of heat to receive the rennet; this the thermometer should be used to determine. In hot weather the milk in the cows' udders is liable to become very much agitated by their running about, or being driven to too great a distance: so that if rennet be put to it in this state, the curd, instead of coming in one or two hours, will require three, four, or five hours, and will be so spongy, tough, and in every respect so imperfect, as to be scarcely capable of being confined in the press or vat; and when released from the press, it will heave or split, and be good for little. Whenever therefore cows are discovered to be in this state, which, perhaps, can scarcely be avoided during very hot weather, where cows are pastured abroad, in unsheltered grounds, or where water is not within their reach; it will be advisable to add some cold fresh spring water to the milk as soon as it is brought into the dairy. The quantity to be mixed, in order to impart the proper degree of heat, can in this case only be regulated by experience and the use of the thermometer. The effect of the water thus added, will in both cases be, to make the rennet take effect much sooner, and consequently to accelerate the coagulation of the milk.

6344. The proportion of rennet and time requisite for coagulation have been already mentioned (6339. 6343.); too much rennet ought not to be put in, otherwise the cheese will be ready to heave, as well as become rank and strong; the same effects will also be produced if the rennet be made with bad or foul materials, or if it be too strong to operate in the given time (two hours). During the process the milk ought to be covered so as not to lose more than five or seven degrees of its orginal heat. One or two handfuls of salt added previously to mixing the rennet will promote coagulation. Some put in a bowl, which is an absurd ancient custom, is injurious rather than useful.

6345. When the coagulation has taken place, the curd is broken or cut with a cheese knife, which causes the whey to rise through the incisions, and the curd sinks with more ease. After a short time the cutting is repeated, still more freely than before; and is continued until the curd is reduced to small uniform particles. This operation will require about three quarters of an hour: the cheese tub is again covered with a cloth, and is allowed to remain for the same time. When the curd has sunk to the bottom of the vessel, the whey is taken off by the hand, or by means of a skimming-dish; another quarter of an hour should now be allowed for the curd to settle, drain, and become solid, before it is broken into the vat, as it prevents the fat from being squeezed out through the fingers, and of course contributes to improve the quality of the cheese. Sometimes in addition to the skimming-dish, a semicircular board and weight, adapted to the size of the tub, are employed. The curd is again cut as before, in order to promote the free separation of the whey, and pressure is again applied till it be wholly drawn off. Great attention is requisite in conducting this part of the business; and if any particles of slip curd should be seen floating in the whey, it ought to be carefully laded off with the whey; as it will not incorporate with the solid curd, but, dissolving in the cheese, causes whey-springs, as already mentioned, and materially impairs its soundness. If the whey be of a green color, when loaded or pressed out, it is a certain criterion that the curd has been properly formed: but if it be of white color, it is equally certain that the coagulation is imperfect, the cheese will be sweet, and of little value, and much valuable caseous matter will be completely thrown away. In the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, the cheese manufacturers have recourse to a somewhat different method for extracting the whey, which is worthy of notice: when they think the milk sufficiently coagulated, they lay a strainer in a basket made for the purpose; into which they put the

curd, and suffer it to remain there for some time to drain, before they break the curd. When the curd is sufficiently drained, it is put into two or three separate vessels, and is broken with the hand as small as possible. During this part of the process, salt is scattered over the curd, and intimately mixed with it; the proportion, however, has not been correctly ascertained, and is regulated by experience.

6346. Management in the press.. The breaking and salting completed, a cloth is spread over the cheese vat, and the broken curd being packed into it, and covered up with the cloth, a smooth round board is laid over the vat; which is usually filled to the height of one inch above the brim, to prevent the curd from shrinking below its sides, when the whey is squeezed out. The whole is then put into a press for two hours, and as it is of the utmost importance that every drop of whey should be expressed, skewers are thrust into the cheese through the holes in the lower part of the vat to facilitate its escape. The two hours expired, the cheese is taken out, and put into a vessel of warm or hot whey for an hour or two, in order to harden its skin. On taking the cheese out of the whey it is wiped dry, and when it has become cool, is wrapped in a clean dry cloth, of a finer texture, and again submitted to the press for six or eight hours. The cheese is now turned a second time, and is taken to the salting room, where it is rubbed on each side with salt; after which it is wrapped in another dry cloth, of a finer texture than either of the preceding cloths, and is again pressed for twelve or fourteen hours; if any edges project these are pared off, and the cheese being laid upon a dry board, is turned every day. In the salting room cheese should be kept warm until it has had a sweat, or has become regularly dry and somewhat stiff; as it is warmth that ripens cheese, improves its color, and causes it when cut to have a flakey appearance, which is the surest sign of superior excellence.

In

6347. Management in the cheese-room. After the processes of salting and drying are completed, the cheeses are deposited in the cheese-room or loft, which should be airy and dry; but on no account should hard and soft cheeses be placed in the same room, for the dampness or moisture arising from the latter, will cause the hard cheese to chill, become thick-coated, and often spotted. Throughout the whole process of cheesemaking, the minutest attention will be requisite: for if the whey be imperfectly expressed, or the rennet be impure, or the cheese be not sufficiently salted, it will become rank and pungent. For this defect there is no remedy. The imperfect separation of the whey will cause cheese to heave or swell, as well as to run out at the sides. order to prevent as well as to stop this heaving, the cheese must be laid in a moderately cool and dry place, and be turned regularly every day. If the heaving be very considerable, the cheese must be pricked on both sides in several places, particularly where it is most elevated, by thrusting a skewer into it: by this pricking, though the heaving will not be altogether prevented, a passage will be given to the confined air, the heaving or swelling will consequently be considerably reduced, and the cavities of the cheese will be less offensive to the eye. Another remedy for heaving in cheese, consists in applying a composition of nitre, and bole armeniac, which is vended in the shops under the name of cheese-powder. It is prepared by mixing one pound of saltpetre with half an ounce of bole armeniac thoroughly together, and reducing them to a very fine powder. About a quarter of an ounce of this is to be rubbed on a cheese, when put a second and third time into the press, half on each side of the cheese at two different meals, before the salt is rubbed on, that the cheese may be penetrated with it. This preparation is very binding, and sometimes proves serviceable, but the nitre is apt to impart an acid taste; and if too much be applied, and the cheese should be exposed to too great heat, the quantity of air already confined in it will be increased by fermentation, and the cheese will swell much more than it would, if no powder had been rubbed in. The greatest care, therefore, will be necessary whenever this remedy is adopted.

6548. Hard and spoiled cheese may be restored in the following manner: take four ounces of pearl-ash, and pour sweet white wine over it, until the mixture ceases to effervesce. Filter the solution, dip into it clean linen cloths, cover the cheese with them, and put the whole into a cool place, or dry cellar. Repeat this process every day, at the same time turning the cheese, and, if necessary, continue it for several weeks. Thus the hardest and most insipid cheese, it is affirmed, has frequently recovered its former flavor.

SECT. VI. Catalogue of the different Sorts of Cheeses and other Preparations made

from Milk.

6349. Of cheeses, we shall first enumerate the British sorts, and next, those peculiar to foreign countries: the description of each will be such as to enable any ingenious dairyist to imitate them.

6350. The brick-bat cheese is so named from the form of the mould; it is formed of new milk and cream in the proportion of two gallons of the former to a quart of the latter. It is principally made in Wiltshire in the month of September, and should not be cut until it is twelve months old.

made.

6351. Chedder cheese, so nained from the vale of that name in Somersetshire, where it is exclusively It is made in cheeses about thirty pounds each, which have a spongy appearance, and the eyes are filled with a limpid and rich, but not rancid oil.

6352. Cheshire cheese is in universal esteem; it is made from the whole of the milk and cream, the