Twamley - Dairying Exemplified: Or, the Business of Cheesemaking, the American Antiquarian Cookbook Collection

PREFACE.

I F a dedication or introduction to the following work should be thought necessary, I most humbly and justly address it to the excellent Diary-women of Great-Britain; duly sensible, that from them I received the first hints that led me to the performance, and without whose assistance and encouragement, joined with my own knowledge and experience, I should never have offered it to the public.

The real design of this Work, is to assist those who are not fully acquainted with the most proper methods, necessary to be used in the management of a D AIRY. I have made it my endeavour to render every part as plain and intelligent as possible, and am in hopes, upon a due observation of the rules laid down, many will find their account in it. It is my sincere wish, that it may be a means of improving the quality, as well as enlarging the quantity of C HEESE, through the kingdom; and become extensively useful to the community in general.

As the publication of this work has met with a very ready sale, and been much approved of, and many who have carefully applied the rules for Dairying therein laid down, have derived great advantage from it, which the Author has by many been informed of; he is encouraged to print a second edition, with improvements, which he hopes will be read by Dairy-women in general, who, if they pay due attention to it, cannot help receiving benefit from the advice it contains.

Dairying Exemplified, & c.

I T has been the wonder of many people, who are interested in the article of Cheese, either as makers or dealers, that no Treatise or Book of rules, or method of making Cheese, hath ever been attempted, or the business of it examined, so as to direct those who are concerned as Dairy-women, or have the chief management in Dairys, to become proficients therein.

The great number of inferior Dairys there are, in comparison to the few that are excellent in their kind, or even what are called good Dairys, every person who is much concerned in the Cheese Trade is well convinced of; and it is evident to a nice observer of the different, yea, very different, qualities of Cheese produced in different Dairys, or even in the same Dairys, when either the Dairy-maid is changed, or the usual method of Cheese-making, by the mistress or manager of each Dairy, is not strictly adhered to. A remedy for this great deficiency is looked upon as an affair of great moment, especially by those whose lot it is to be fixed in the Cheese Trade in a considerable Dairy Country, where large quantities of Cheese are annually bought; and where, was Cheese-making in equal repute, or the real quality of Cheese equal in goodness to some neighbouring counties, a much larger quantity would certainly be made; and, what would be a great encouragement both to the makers and buyers of it, a better price would be procured for the same article, and a much readier sale, than when of an inferior quality.

Besides which, it is very clear that many people do, not, for want of a proper method, make near so much Cheese, from the same quantity of milk, as others do; or as even themselves might do, if a more proper method was pursued. These considerations, having always been clearly apparent, have from time to time, and as oft as an opportunity of attaining any knowledge in the business of making good Cheese hath offered, led the Author of the following Treatise to collect, weigh and investigate, every particular circumstance leading to improve the said art or business; and hath enabled him from time to time to assist and help many, by his advice and directions, to rectify and amend many faults and deficiencies in the method they followed; and many have by such directions greatly improved their Dairys. And from constant experience, and seeing the improvements, and the effects produced from every different method practised or explained, by such as he found most experienced, or best informed, for the space of thirty years and upwards, he never failed to avail himself; this hath constantly led him to scrutinize into the real cause of every impediment, or fault, in the method of making Cheese, from the first step, or milking the cows, to the completing or removing the Cheese for sale; and to point out a remedy to each complaint upon rational principles, as far as they appear to him, and are confirmed by the opinion of others, who have been in the way of making observations of the same nature, and who give every encouragement to the Author to make such improvements public, for the general good. I am well acquainted how unthankful an office it is, to attempt to instruct or inform Dairy-women how to improve their method, or point out rules which are different from their own, or what hath always been practised by their mothers, to whom they are often very partial, as having been esteemed the best Dairy-women of their time, and even when they have imperceptibly altered their method, by shortening the time in gathering the Cheese, which is a term generally given for collecting the curd at the bottom of the tub or pan, after the runnet or rendless has done its duty, or by putting a larger quantity of runnet into the milk to hasten the coming of the Cheese, which alteration, though often not observed by the Dairy-maid, or mistress, is of very material importance, and is what I shall endeavour to explain, in as concise a manner as possible. I doubt not the same reflection will occur to the minds of some few on reading my book, as hath Often done upon occasion, when I have in a Dairy met with any particular impediment in their Cheese, which the Dairy-woman would fairly acknowledge she could not account for, and hath tried every means she could think of to rectify without success; saying, what does he know of Dairying, or how should a man know any thing of Cheese-making?

But let these remember, that I have had frequent opportunities of consulting the belt of Dairy-women, in many counties, who I knew from experience did know how to make good Cheese; and in order to have it in my power to inform such as did not know how, I have taken great pains to inform myself, as many now living in both situations can testify.

The principal faults that cause there difficulties to Dairy-women are, hove Cheese, spungy, full of eyes, whey springs, jointed or shook Cheese, split Cheese, loose Cheese, or Cheese made of unsettled curd, rank or strong Cheese, flying out or bulging at the edges, dry cracks or husky coated Cheese, blistering in the coat, blue pared or decayed Cheese, sweet or funky Cheese, curdled or four milk Cheese, and sometimes ill smelling Cheese, from tainted mawskins, from distempered cattle, or some other cause, which by a strict observer may be accounted for. Before a certain cure can be found out or applied, you must be acquainted with the nature and cause of the complaint, or if by any accident you hit upon a remedy, it may perhaps be a partial one, or such as will not answer at all limes, or in all Dairys, by reason the complaint is from a certain fixed cause, and which cause will at all times and in all places produce that effect; When perhaps the remedy applied may only be proper in some particular Dairys, owing to herbage, very rich pasture or very poor, to clover ground, or ground given to noxious weeds, plants, or trees, which the cows cat of; each of which, if not known or considered, will produce a different effect, some of which effects may be similar in appearance to complaints in other Dairys produced from different causes, the knowledge of which will be of great use to every Dairy-woman or maker of Cheese to know, as the operation of the work, or management and care of the Cheese when made, must necessarily fall to their lot.

What relates to pasturage, or the quality of land for grass, the produce of the land regarding plants, weeds, or grass of different kinds, falls more immediately under the eye and care of the Master, or Farmer of the land; and from observing from time to time the state of the Dairy, the taste of the Cheese, so far as it may be affected by any particular herb, weed, or grass; the situation of the Cheese in the Dairy chamber how it is affected in different seasons by heat, cold, damp or dry weather, to know what are the causes of many general faults or complaints in Cheese, such as heaving, splitting, jointing, whey spring, ill formed, or sweet Cheese, which often, when any of these happen in a Dairy, are produced by one general cause, and frequently go through the principal part of it, proceeding from the same neglect, or mismanagement. These difficulties or deficiencies it is proper a Master should be acquainted with, as it often, as I may say, too often happens, the mistress leaves the care of the Dairy to servants, especially the putting together the milk, preparing the runnet, and putting it into the milk, the standing of the milk till it becomes curd, and breaking or gathering it after it is come; which is generally done by some common rule or method they have been used to, the method used by a former Mistress perhaps, who might be esteemed a good Dairy-woman, and very likely undertook the management of the Dairy herself; or at least so far as the essential part of the work extended; paying a particular regard to the time of the operation of the runnet, in bringing the Cheese, or of gathering the curd, fixing or letting it after it is come; each of which require a minute exactness; and the principal error or misfortune in Cheese-making is owing to these operations being too hastily performed, not giving time enough for the different effects to take place; for if due regard is paid to making good curd, you will very easily make good Cheese; few people in any business make good goods of bad materials, though many of the most ignorant, when provided with good materials, prepared for that purpose, will finish them in a workman-like and masterly manner; so will many a Dairy-maid make very handsome Cheese, and take care of it till it comes to be very good, and so as to give credit to the seller, as well as the vender of it, that has no consistent idea how the runnet operates, or perhaps of the different states of the curd, in its various stages, or even when it is in a proper state to begin the part of the work which usually falls to her share, of breaking, vatting, and preparing it for putting in the press, which former part should be the care of the Mistress, or at least of some person who does understand it, to prepare the curd for them. The business of a Dairy is of considerable importance, and what is in some places half, or nearly the whole income or produce of a farm. The difference is so great between a very good Dairy-woman, an inferior one, and a very bad one, as would surprise even a judicious observer; and the following observations, which slow from what have happened in my own walks, will be apt to strike conviction on the minds of many, who have never applied their thoughts to the theory of Dairying. The general way that the art of Dairying has been carried on for ages, has been progressive, or traditional, being taught by mother to daughter, from common and continual experience: naturally adopting, from time to time, the methods that appeared best from such as have happened to come within their own knowledge; without ever calling in the assistance of either philosophy by which they might learn the different qualities and effect of materials they use, or knowledge how to apply them in a physical, or practical manner. And although the Author of this Treatise is very conscious of the deficiency of his own knowledge, yet he has great hopes that from the desire of making himself useful to the community, with the assistance of reason and commonsense, he shall be able to render some assistance to those he wishes to serve. A kind providence hath provided for all our wants; Nature, as Nature, is complete in all its parts; we often, in trying to improve it, distort or throw it into confusion; our ideas being inadequate to the attempt. Where nature points out or leaves any opening for improvement, in the use of any of the common necessaries of life, it is the duty of individuals to take the hint, and endeavour to explain them for public good. The present, System of Dairying being in a very imperfect state, I am in hopes my endeavours to render service and improvement, will not be found unnecessary.