The quantity of milk required to make 1 lb. of Cheddar cheese may be learnt from Table X., which shows the results obtained at the cheese school of the Bath and West of England Society in the two seasons of 1899 and 1900. The cheese was sold at an average age of ten to twelve weeks. In 1899 a total of 21,220 gallons of milk yielded 20,537 lb. of saleable cheese, and in 1900, 31,808 gallons yielded 29,631 lb. In the two years together 53,028 gallons yielded 50,168 lb., which is equivalent to 1.05 gallon of milk to 1 lb. of cheese. For practical purposes it may be taken that one gallon, or slightly over 10 lb. of milk, yields 1 lb. of pressed cheese. The prices obtained are added as a matter of interest.
Cheshire cheese is largely made in the county from which it takes its name, and in adjoining districts. It is extensively consumed in Manchester and Liverpool, and other parts of the densely populated county of Lancaster.
TABLE X.--_Quantities of Milk employed and of Cheese produced in the Manufacture of Cheddar Cheese._
+---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+ | When Made. | Milk. | Green |Saleable| Shrinkage. | Price. | | | |Cheese.| Cheese.| | | +---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+ | | galls.| lb. | lb. | |per cwt.| | April 1899 | 3077 | 3100 | 2924 | 6 per cent. | 60s. | | May | 4462 | 4502 | 4257 | 6½ lb. per cwt. | 63s. | | June | 4316 | 4434 | 4141 | 7 lb. 6 oz. per cwt.| 70s. | | July | 3699 | 3785 | 3545 | 7 lb. 2 oz. per cwt.| 74s. | | August | 2495 | 2539 | 2353 | 8 lb. 3 oz. per cwt.| 74s. | | Sept. and Oct.| 3171 | 3583 | 3317 | 8 lb. 5 oz. per cwt.| 74s. | | April 1900 | 3651 | 3505 | 3292 | 6 per cent. | 63s. | | May | 6027 | 6048 | 5577 | 7¾ per cent. | 64s. | | June | 5960 | 5889 | 5466 | 7¼ per cent. | 68s. | | July and Aug. | 7227 | 7177 | 6630 | 7½ per cent. | 66s. | | Sept. and Oct.| 8943 | 9635 | 8666 | 10 per cent. | 66s. | +---------------+-------+-------+--------+---------------------+--------+
The following is a description of the making of Cheshire cheese:--
The evening's milk is set apart until the following morning, when the cream is skimmed off. The latter is poured into a pan which has been heated by being placed in the boiling water of a boiler. The new milk obtained early in the morning is poured into the vessel containing the previous evening's milk with the warmed cream, and the temperature of the mixture is brought to about 75° F. Into the vessel is introduced a piece of rennet, which has been kept in warm water since the preceding evening, and in which a little Spanish annatto (¼ oz. is enough for a cheese of 60 lb.) is dissolved. (Marigolds, boiled in milk, are occasionally used for colouring cheese, to which they likewise impart a pleasant flavour. In winter, carrots scraped and boiled in milk, and afterwards strained, will produce a richer colour; but they should be used with moderation, on account of their taste.) The whole is now stirred together, and covered up warm for about an hour, or until it becomes curdled; it is then turned over with a bowl and broken very small. After standing a little time, the whey is drawn from it, and as soon as the curd becomes somewhat more solid it is cut into slices and turned over repeatedly, the better to press out the whey.