THE ASHBURTON CHEESE FACTORY

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 658, 3 November 1882, Page 2

THE ASHBURTON CHEESE FACTORY

A special of the Ashburton Guardian writes :—

There are no appliances at Plemington to make other than pure cheese, and these appliances, I have no doubt, are the very best procurable for money in " all England." The room in which the four cheese-vats are placed occupies one entire wing of the Factory. The milk-vats are placed across this room, leaving plenty of space between the walls and each vat for the operation to work. They are known as Cluett's patent vats, and are made at Tarporley, in Cheshire, and were invented and made on purpose for the celebrated Cheshire dairies. They are about 11 feet long by 3 feet wide, and 30 inches deep, and have an inner and outer shell, the former made of block tin and the latter of iron, between which steam, hot or cold water, can be introduced. This is necessary because the milk has to be cooled and then the temperature raised when the cheese is being made. They are on wheels, and can be conveniently moved about. This maker's vats took the first prize at the la.st Royal Agricultural Show in England. At the end of this room is the receiving platform, where the milk is taken from the carts oulsido. The cans, which hold 10 gallons each, are then weighed, and tho milk poured in the vats by means of a tin channel, made so as reach the furthest from the door as well as the nearest it. The milk is then cooled and afterwards heated, and the modus opera.-r-.i of cheese making is commenced. Some rennet is then mixed, and then the curd comes, the whey being gradually drained off through a strainer and tap at the lower end of the rat. The small hand curd mill is then brought into U3e. This mill ia made with a small roller in which are placed numbers of small sharp steel uladdß. are for cutting the curd, arid it is claimed for this pp.rticu•ar mill that it cuts the curd in. s Sead of crushing it, &nd so does not liberate so much of the solid constituents of the cheese. The various other processes which the cheeses undergo are pretty generally known to most of my readers, so I \v:;l not dilate upon them. In an adjoining room are the patent presses, which are of varioii3 sizes, viz., sir ;le, double, find triple. Round the walla of the room are a number of strong shelves, on wiuVh the different wooden and other vats are placed ready for use. They vary in size, as well as make, .viortly after tl;" arrival of the visitors, Mr ilarding and his assistant, Mr Thome, commenced a trial operation. One of tho milk v--f,s containing about 210 gallons of milk (which

by the way, are made to hold 300 gallons) wna then subjected to the heating process by means of a steam pipe, which communicates from the engine by a hose into the vacant space between the outer and inner shells of the vat, which has already been referred to. [ forgot to mention that the very necessary precaution of testing the milk, by means of that little instrument known as a '' lactometer," previous to its being emptied out of the cans, is the iirst operation after weighing in. Then follows the straining process, which is very simply done with a moveable strainer, which is affixed to the sides of the vat. At my entrance into the room where the milk vats nre placed, there was a great noise of escaping steam, the milk was being heaved up and down like seething water in a vat, and the operators were busy at work with two basins, keeping the milk thoroughly stirred. The rennet and coloring matter wore then put in, but the latter was found not toco-mingle with the milk, owing to the acidity of the milk and other causes, and had to be again skimmed off. Steam wae then turned off, and the temperature of the milk having been sufficient, it was allowed to stand for about three quarters of an hour. On inquiry I found the little glass instrument that was floating about the val to b<; a thennometor. As the process of stirring the raiik proceeded, the little instrument kept its equilibrium in the seething mass. Duiing the interval which now elapsed, the company went outside the building and were photographed in a group by Mr G. F. Henry, and then a further inspection of the appliances was made. My attention was drawn to the little "Tungye" engine, of 2-horse power, which supplies the steam for the Factory. It is intended to drive with this engine a large curd mill and washing machine—the latter a very necessary adjunct to the factory, as the cloths, etc., have to bo kept scrupulously clean. I found that a very large assortment of these cloths had been imported by the Company. Mr Bowron informed me that the buildings on the Whole are very superior to those generally in America, and they certainly look mnsV^substantial and convenient. The iime havirtg now expired for the milk to turn into curcls, the nest process was the most critical in the making of cheese. This consists of breaking the curd with the long handled "breakers" and has to be done during another steaming process, that every little piece of curd has to be of the same consistency and hardness, and the art of making good cheese rests with the skill of the operator in attaining this end. The curd after two hours work was then allowed to eettle, and the whey run off, and this was as much of the process as could he 6een during our stay.