_Curdling time._--One and one-half to two hours gave most satisfactory
results in forming curd. This should be very firm and stand until it
begins to "sweat," until beads of whey have begun to collect upon its
surface.
_Cutting._--The cow's milk curd gave best results when cut in two
directions with the half-inch curd knife. The resulting columns, a half
inch square in cross-section, may be handled without excessive losses.
_Draining._--The cut curd is dipped to a draining rack covered with
cloth with as little breaking as possible. During the draining process,
a certain amount of turning is necessary to facilitate the separation
and escape of the whey. If handled too much, losses of fat are increased
and the curd becomes tough or waxy instead of remaining brittle or
crumbly. When properly handled, not over 0.35 per cent of fat is lost.
Under favorable conditions, four-ninths to two-thirds of the original
weight of curd will separate and run off as whey in twenty to thirty
minutes. The curd meanwhile is exposed to the air of the room and cools
toward room temperature. If cooling goes too far, further drainage is
interfered with. Hence the curd is put into the hoop and the drainage
completed while the cheese is reaching its final form.
_Hoop._--Hoops for cow's milk Roquefort must be 7½ inches in diameter
and about 5¾ inches high to hold curd enough to produce a cheese the
size of the standard Roquefort when completely drained. Sheep's milk
with its higher percentage of solids does not require such high hoops.
The curd as it goes into the hoop should be a soft, pulpy mass with no
suggestion of toughness.
_Inoculation with mold._--The mold for Roquefort cheese (_Penicillium
Roqueforti_[70]) is readily grown in pure culture in ordinary loaves of
bread. For this purpose loaves hot from the oven are quickly drenched
with or immersed in hot paraffine to form an impervious crust to retain
moisture as well as to keep out contaminations. It is then allowed to
cool. The interior of each loaf is inoculated by drawing a suspension of
_P. Roqueforti_ spores in water into a sterile pipette (10 c.c.) which
is then thrust through the paraffined crust to the center of the loaf of
bread and allowed to empty there. The hole is sealed up with paraffine.
These loaves are incubated for about a month at room temperature. When
cut, every open space should be found lined with the green spores of the
mold. When dry enough, the mass may be powdered, and put into an
ordinary pepper box. When the curd is ready to go into the hoop, this
mold powder is sprinkled upon it from the pepper box.
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