Cheesemaking and Factory

[Aubrey]

Hi Folks,

First I say hello from Paris! ;)

Preparing our event this WE, I'm just wondering if somebody has any informations about cheesemaking in the Civil War era.......because I'm looking for old time packaging. I want to be close to reality as possible. I find something interesting concerning cheesemaking in Wisconsin here http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dict...&term_id=11624 and we know that numerous factories did exist (Vermount, Maine, Wisconsin....).

I'd like to know how cheese was conditioned.....in which type of package and if you have or find out illustrations that I can pick up, it would be great and I will appreciate it;

Greetings and enjoy Halloween!

Thanx

Adrien

[Aubrey]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Look at this drawing circa 1880:

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Cheese was made in large wheels (flat circular loaves) in the period, so unless you're bringing 20+ pounds of cheese, what you'd generally have would be a slice taken from a wheel. Here are some weights of typical English cheeses, showing how heavy they were: http://books.google.com/books?id=EadUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA277

Another article on cheesemaking: http://books.google.com/books?id=3vSyPEHNZsMC&pg=PA151

Something we're not used to today (at least in the US) with typical storebought cheeses is a rind. Period cheese wheels developed a hard, dry rind on the outside which protected them but which also made that part not very valuable. Both the sources above mention some cheeses being painted on the outside, and some suggested rubbing them with butter, but in general, cheese was left uncoated. So if you had less than a whole cheese, you'd have a wedge cut out of a wheel, with a rind on the back, top and bottom like a piece of pie and the good cheese in the middle where the pie filling would be. Period housekeeping books suggest coating the cut sides of the cheese with butter or lard to keep it from drying out and becoming hard, but that would only be if you planned to keep it a while.

So whether homemade or purchased at a store, the consumer would be responsible for providing their own packaging for a slice of cheese that was anything less than a wheel.

Edited to add: Here's a picture of a modern cheese-slice showing the rind and how the cheese gets darker toward the edge of the slice as the rind switches to the softer cheese: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpH4WC-1oz...n+(8+of+9).jpg

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[crabby]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Hank gave some very good information. I do disagree somewhat that a consumer would be responsible for providing their own packaging for store purchased cheese. Some shopkeepers did wrap purchases with paper and that would work for cheese as well. To address your question of packaging for your event, since you will be consuming it rather quickly, wrapping it in cheesecloth would work. Or brown paper.
Here are some photos of cheeses. These are courtesy of ALHFAM from the FARM & Historic Foodways Dairying Skills Workshop at Landis Valley Farm Museum so would be similar to 'home produced' rather than factory made.




Another option would be a cheese box such as this one.

[Aubrey]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Ok thank you both for your answers!

Hank, what do you mean by providing their own packaging? I guess, as a buyer, in this time I had to bring my own paper or a kind of towel or cotton tissu from home? I understood that they weren't used to selling cheese with an "etiquette"/label as we are saying in French.....this is a modern habit......isn't it?

Beth, which type of cheesecloth (that sounds funny!) do you suggest me?

Thanks again Beth!

Greetings

Adrien

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Some shopkeepers did wrap purchases with paper and that would work for cheese as well.

Actually, I agree with that. Don't know what I was thinking! Yes, wrapped in paper seems obvious. I also agree that a cheesebox would be a good thing to bring to the store to put a whole wheel of cheese in, or I suspect that one could purchase it with the cheese as an extra cost, but don't know for sure.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[Marine Mike]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Mine is going to be an extrapolation. My Great Grandfather started his general store in the 1890's and the family operated it until 1965 at which point it was sold. From that sale, we retained the store coffee grinder, funnels and various measuring cups used by customers to draw from the bulk supplies such as vinegar, molasses and various dry food stuffs. Customer supplied their own containers as this was before plastic bags and in the early years before paper bags. Things changed over the 70+ years of ownership from bulk to factory packed whether it be box, bottle or can. We now see a bit of a return of that with food co-ops and bulk food aisles at Win-Dixie and other supermarkets. I think the explanations offered by Beth and Hank are spot on.
Smoked meats were often local supplied. My grandfather related a story about some locals bringing some hams to the back of the store to sell. As he watched, one went in to talk to his father about an offer and the other laid the hams in the dirt, lit up a cigar and waited. County Health would be all over that like white on rice today.

[Aubrey]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Good story Mike! Very intersting and emotional!

You know, we have the same things in France, a kind of "return to the past"...."vintage style"......"old time is better than nowadays". I have to admit, I appreciate it! A lot of things, habits, way of doing/working/living, handcrafting, vanished with each passing years/centuries. Our comfort let us inactive and lazy. We could speak for hours about these changing times like old men (with all my respect)! ;)

Anyway, thanks again all. I'm going to find brown paper or a sort of wheel at the cheese shop if it does exist and ready to sell it. We are lucky here in France because we have a various kind of quality cheese even cheddar whit hard rind that looks like the original.

[crabby]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

"Beth, which type of cheesecloth (that sounds funny!) do you suggest me?"

Cheesecloth is a type of fabric with a very open weave that has many kitchen uses besides cheese making. It can be placed over a bowl to strain liquid from solid, tie spices in it before adding to soup or stew and in a pinch several layers will make an adequate coffee filter.
Here are photos to show the loose weave.


Here in the US it can be purchased at local fabric shops, in Paris I don't know as I have never been there :cry_smile

[Aubrey]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

Thank you Beth! I see what it is.......

[Aubrey]

Re: Cheesemaking and Factory

If you don't mind, Beth and Hank, I put some informations on my french discussion board.