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Cheese-making on a Wigtownshire farm.

Date 09 August 1972
Track ID 30697
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1972.154.B2; SA1972.154.B3; SA1972.154.B4

Original Tape ID

SA1972.154

Summary

Cheese-making on a Wigtownshire farm.

Cheese was taken to Dunragit by cart, or sometimes to Drummore to be transported by steamer. Talk of coal coming in and corn [oats] going out by boat. The cheese was made as 56lb Cheddar or Dunlop, or 14lb Stilton sizes. At the end of the season, the dairyman used to make some with caraway seed in it for home consumption on the farm. Detailed description of cheese-making: the milk was heated and a starter added, at a certain temperature; the curds were stirred as they formed, then cut with curd knives; then a wooden rake was used to stir the contents; the curd was tested on a red-hot iron and the length of the hairs formed indicated when it was time for the whey to be run off; then the curd solidified in the vat and was lifted out in slabs into a cooler; once cooled, it was put through a curd mill and cut to finger lengths, then returned to the cooler and salted; it lay for a time, then was put into the chessets [chessels] and through the cheese press into a cloth; the next day it was put, in the cloth, into boiling water, then through the cheese press again into a fresh cloth; the next day it was ready to be bandaged. Cheese was made during six months in the year, and for the rest of the time the milk was sent to the creamery in Drummore, which made cheese in the winter. The starter was soured milk: everything depended on the quality of the starter.

The heat was provided by steam piped in below the vat. The dairyman polished the brass round the vat and the spigots and decorated the corners of the floor with stookie [pipeclay]. Doorsteps also used to be decorated with fancy patterns in the same way. Individuals had their own patterns.

Item Notes

Very detailed information on cheese-making and the implements used.

Recording Location

Village/Place - Galloway

Item Location

County - Wigtownshire

Parish - Kirkmaiden

Language

English

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good