THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, October 25, 1849. DAIRY FARMING.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 22, 25 October 1849, Page 1

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, October 25, 1849. DAIRY FARMING.

CHEESE MAKING. [Continued from our last.] Having furnished ample information relative to the preparation and application of rennet, the infusion of co ouring matter is, naturally, the next point to be considered.

i As cheese in its native state—that is* such as is well manufactured,'being put [together in proper time, the milk of a proper degree of warmth, and in all other I respects properly pressed, salted, and dried —is uniformly of a bright yellow cast, and tlie idea of excellence is generally attached to cheese of such a colour it becomes necessary for the dairyman who would dispose of his cheese to Advantage to impart a blight yellow orange colour to it by artificial means. Formerly tunneli->, marigolds, hawthorn buds, and other vegetables were employed for this purpose ; but these have been long since rejected for the Spanish anottn, which is unquestionably the best ingredient of the kind that can be used ; it is a preparation of the bixia tree of South AmericaThe red pulp that covers the seedi of this tree are suspended in hot water, and allowed to subside; when dry, they are formed into cakes or balls, and f.irtherset aside until perfectly dry and firm. One ounce of this substance, when genuine, will be- sufficient to colour a huu.lred weight of cheese—that quantity is the common nllowancc in the County of Glou'ester, and the proportion of the other cheese-making counties varies more or less in a very trifling degree. Anotfa is an article easily procurable, being sold, generally! by nil respectable chemists and druggists, The usual manner of its application is to dip a piece of the requisite size and weight in a bowl of milk, nnd to rub it 011 a smooth stone until tlie milk assumes a deep red colour; this infusion is to he 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 colour, wliicli will become deeper in proportion to the age of the cheese. The mixing of the anotta in no respect affects either its taste or smell. In the County of Cheshire, the •lye b (differently applied ; it h usual to tie up ns much as may bo wanted in a linen rag which is put into half a pint of warm water, an<l left to stand over night. In tlie morning, immediately before the milk is coagulated, the whole of this infusion is mixed with it in the cheese-tub, the rag is dipped in it, and rubbed on the palm of the hand until the co'ouring substance is comp'etely extracted. Mr. Parkinson points out a still more simple method for its application. "Take,'' lie, "a pieco about the size of a haze'nut, put it into a pint of mi'k the night before you intend to make cheese, nnd it will dissolve ; add to it the mi k at the time the rennet is put in." This rpiantity will suffice to colour a chess of twenty pounds weight.

I In England the proper season for making eliecsc i 3 from the beginning of May until the close of September; or, in favourable years, till the middle of October, In New Zealand, we imagine, the proper period for this very important branch Of domestic maiiufncturc, ought to range from October to March.

Although it is the practice, in some of the largo English dairies, to manufacture cheese throughout the year, still, that which is made in- winter is reputed to be of inferior quality, and to require longer time to ripen before it becomes fit for sa!e or use. Very good cheese, however, may be made even in winter, (especially in sich latitudes as ours) provi'ictl the cows ave well fed. In making cheese, that ntte;ition wjii<h has been given to the collection and preparation of mateiirtls must be relaxed ; for, in a 1! probability, its richness depends as much, if not more, upon the particular process adopted in the management of the materials of which it consists. In the making of cheese, much depends upon the temperature of the milk, as well as the proportion of the rennet. With regard to the former, Mr, Marshall is of opinion that from 80 to 90 degrees of temperature is requisite, and from one to two hours is the time for coagulation ; although climate, season, weather, and pasture may require that those limits should bo sometimes departed from. ' For instance, milk produced from poor soil will require to be coagulated at a higher temperature than from rich pasture: As the proportion of rennet which should be added to the milk lias already been stated, it may suffice here to remark, that too much ought not to be put in, otherwise the cheese will be liable to heave aSid become rank and strong; the same eflects will also be produced if tho rennet be. made with bad or foul materials, or if too strong to operate in the given time. In some dairies it fetlie practice to heat the milk to the requisite temperature; but as milk is liable to burn and adhere to the bottom of the pot—which, when it happens, invariably communicates n burnt taste to the cheese —it is far preferable to mix boiling water in such a proportion a? shall render the milk of a proper degree of beat, which must be regulated by the thermometer. In hot weather, the milk in the cows' udders is liable to bo overheated by theii running obout or being drivm too great a distance, so tlmt if rennet bo put to it in this state, the cheese, instead of coming in one or two hours, will require three, four, or five, and then be so spongy, tough, and in every respect imperfect as to be scarcely capable of being confi.icd in the press or vat, and, when released from it, will heavo or split, and bo of little use: —whenever, therefore, cows are discovered to be in this state—which, perhaps, ranscarccly be avoided during very hot weather, where cows are pastured abroad in unsheltered grounds, or where water is not within their reach—it wi'lbo 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 to impart the proper degree of heat, can, in tin's case, only be regulated by experience and the thermometer. The cfl'ect of the water thus added will, in both cases, be to make the rennet take effect much sooner, and consequently accelerate the coagulation of the milk. In general, from one to two hours will be the proper lengtU of time for coagulating the milk which ought to be covered, so as to lose, during the process, about five degrees of its original heat. The addition of one or two handfuls of salt to the milk, previous to mixing the rennet, will promote : its curdling ; but the state of the weather, i the season, & ~ must be attended to in ! conducting this process, which may some- ■ times require more than two hours to coagulate t e milk. If cheese be made in ii hurry it will invariably be of an inferior quality. Some persons put a bowl in the tub when the rennet is added to the milk, under the idea that, by taking the bowl out they can belter ascertain when the i cheese is come ; the consequence of this ab.iurd practice is, tho formation of slip ; curd, which dissolves in the cheese after it is made, produces whey springs, runs out, 'eaves a hole in the cheese, which j 8 further liable to crack, and always decays ill that place. If, however, conformably to an ancient custom, a bowl must be put in, it is best to place it with the hollow part upwards; but it is much better to omit it altogether, and avoid the defect just mentioned. When the curdling, or coagulation, has lak-n place, the curd is broken or gathcr-

Ed, —various practices, in tliis part oi the business, prevail in iliflbrent places, but tho following appears to be the most judicious, The curd is first cut with n cheeseknife in various directions; this causes the whey to rise through the incisions, and the curd sinks with more ease : after a short time the cutting is repeated more freely than before, and continued till the curd is reduced to small uniform particles. This operation will require about three quarters of an hour. The cheesetub is again covered with a cloth, anil allowed to remain for the same length of time. When the curd has sunk to the bottom tff the vessel, the wliey is laded oil' by the hand or a skimmingdish: another quarter of .an hour should now bo allowed for the curd to settle, drain, and become so'id, beforo it is broken into the vat, ai this prevents it from being squeezed-, out through the fingers, and of course contributes to improve the quality of the cheese. Sonictime, in addition to the skimming-dish, a semi-circular board and weight, adapted to the size of the tub, are employed.— Tho curd is again cut as before, in order to promote the free .separation of the whey, and pressure is applied until it be wholly drained oil'. Great attention is requisite in conducting this part of tho business, If any particles of s'ip-curd arc seen flowing in the whey, they should lie carefully laded oft' with it, as it will not incorporate with the solid curd, but ' greatly injure > the cheese, in the manner already mentioned. If the whey be of u green colour when laded or pressed out, it is a certain • criterion that the curd has been properly formed; but if of n white colour, it is equally certain that the confutation is imperfect—the cheese will be sweet and of little value, and much valuable caseous or chccsy matter entirely thrown away, In the counties of Norfolk and Sull'olk the cheese manufacturers have recourse to a somewhat dilfeient method of extracting the whey, which is worthy of notice. When they think the milk sufficiently coagulated, tliey lav a strainer in n basket niailc for the purpose, into which they put the curd, ami stiller it to remain there for some time before they break it; when sufficient y drained, it' is put into two or three separate parts and broken as small as possible with the hand; during this part of the process, salt is scattered over the curd ami mixed well with it; the proportion, however, lias iiot been correctly ascertained, and must bo regulated by experience ' ( To be concluded in our next.)