SMALL CHEESES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 23, 10 January 1912, Page 3

SMALL CHEESES.

ALWAYS A READY MARKET. (“The Dairy.”) The conservation which has for ages been shown by the farmer in his dealings with the markets is fast yielding to the demands made by the consumer. The large cheeses which have for so long made their appearance must now, in many cases, give nay to the demand for those of lighter weight, and which are much more convenient to handle. The Journal of the Board of Agriculture gives an article upon “Kingston” cheese, recommended as one for small holders and others. It has been written by Messrs. Todd and Sadler, who state tiiat merchants of dairy produce have frequently asked makers to produce small Cheshire's or Leicester's, varying from 11b to 21b in weight, because they have known that the right article of such a size would meet with a ready sale, provided the quality could be relied upon. The chief difficulty hitherto experienced has been that practically all attempts to reproduce :n miniature such cheeses as Cheddar, Cheshire, Leicester, or Derby have resulted in a cheese having a thick rind, thus causing much- waste when cut up, and also one which failed to ripen properly, due, to the fact that it dried up and became hard and chalky in texture, with little or no flavour. In many cases the processes of manufacture and treatment have been dcnfical with those adopted in the make of the larges cheeses, except that, on the curd being ready for grinding, small moulds of the required size have been substituted for the usual larger ones. Naturally, the results have been unsatisfactory. After much preliminary experimental work, the authors have devised a system which, if carefully followed, will produce a small cheese varying in weight from IH> to 21h, which embraces the qualities of a hard-pressed variety, and yet which is ripe and ready for consumption ten days after making. The authors announce that the “Kingston” cheese supplies a demand for a cheese of a size suitable

for the table of the average house-holder-—one which, as regards early maturity it rid the incorporation of moisture, beal‘B S(hli« relation to certain classes of soft cheese, white at the same time it possesses it distinctive quality of a typical ripened hardpressed with respect to flavour and texture. They aver that the utensils required and tliC accommodation ; necessary for the making and ripening do not require to be considerable,and makers of small means and limited space can attain quite satisfactory results. They also state that it should lie a particularly suitable cheese for small holders to make. The amount of milk required would not necessitate the keeping of many cows, and the fact that the ripening process is rapid means little loss of_ weight during ripening, and also provides for a quick return financially. In the making of this, as in Jill cheeses, the first essential-in clean, wholesome milk, free from taint—i.e., any undesirable odour or flavour —and untreated by chemicals and extremes of heat or‘cold. The “Kingston” cheese is made from mixed milk, equal parts of the morning’s and evening’s milking.