The following description of cheese making is given by an old lady whose mother made cheese in the first half of the 19th century:
"She set the milk and put a little runnet (rennet) in each pan, which turns the milk into a curd. Rennet is calf stomach, cured in a certain way. Then she let the whey settle until the curd hardens."
"They had a wooden tool called cheese tongs or cheese ladder, made of four sticks crossed, and this was laid over the tub and a strainer basket laid on this. The curd was put into cheese cloth, which was laid inside the basket, and left to drain. After the whey drained from the curd, if she wished to color the curd (cheese), she would put in the sage or corn water."
"When the corn is young and the stalks are tender, she would take some of the tender leaves, pour boiling water over
them and use this tea to pour over the cheese to give it a green color. Cheeses were made in layers of green and white sometimes. Sage and tea made from pig weed were also used to color cheese."
"Then the foller, which presses the curds down into the hoop, was put in. When the curd had been in the press for twenty-four hours, she took it out and trimmed off the edges. Then she put it back into the press and pressed it with the other side up. Then she spread fresh butter all over it. Every day, she turned the cheese over and put on more butter."
"Mother made cheese in the months of July and August when butter did not churn good. She kept on turning and greasing the cheese through summer until winter. A saying is still heard in country districts: 'It hangs on like the old lady's cheese.'"
"She set the milk and put a little runnet (rennet) in each pan, which turns the milk into a curd. Rennet is calf stomach, cured in a certain way. Then she let the whey settle until the curd hardens."
"They had a wooden tool called cheese tongs or cheese ladder, made of four sticks crossed, and this was laid over the tub and a strainer basket laid on this. The curd was put into cheese cloth, which was laid inside the basket, and left to drain. After the whey drained from the curd, if she wished to color the curd (cheese), she would put in the sage or corn water."
"When the corn is young and the stalks are tender, she would take some of the tender leaves, pour boiling water over
them and use this tea to pour over the cheese to give it a green color. Cheeses were made in layers of green and white sometimes. Sage and tea made from pig weed were also used to color cheese."
"Then the foller, which presses the curds down into the hoop, was put in. When the curd had been in the press for twenty-four hours, she took it out and trimmed off the edges. Then she put it back into the press and pressed it with the other side up. Then she spread fresh butter all over it. Every day, she turned the cheese over and put on more butter."
"Mother made cheese in the months of July and August when butter did not churn good. She kept on turning and greasing the cheese through summer until winter. A saying is still heard in country districts: 'It hangs on like the old lady's cheese.'"