On the Whey A Census of its Properties, Yields, and Honest Uses; with Notes upon a Concern Lately Established at Pleasant Street

I.Introduction

It has long been the custom, among the dairy-folk of Essex County, to regard the whey as a residue of no consequence, fit chiefly for the pigs^†. The present authors, having made a quiet study of the fluid for the better part of a decade, are obliged to dissent from this opinion. The whey, properly drawn and properly kept, is a wholesome thing, agreeable to the constitution, and not without a certain austere savour. We propose, therefore, in the pages that follow, to set down what we have observed.

The concern at Pleasant Street, behind the dairy, was established in the year MDCCCLXXXVII for the express purpose of placing the substance within reach of the citizenry at a fair coin.

II.Method

The whey here described is obtained by the simple separation of curd from milk by the customary action of rennet, no novelty being attempted. The serum is drawn off into vessels of tinned iron, allowed to cool in the stone passage adjoining the dairy, and decanted into pails or, where the purchaser requires, into bottles of clear glass, stopped with cork and sealed with wax^‡. No adulterants of any description are added; nor is any colouring matter employed.

The whey is drawn each morning at first light and is offered to the public from seven of the clock onward, the same being abundant at that hour and at its best for the table.

III.Yields & Allied Products

From a hundred-weight of full milk, our practice obtains, on a temperate day, between eighty-six and ninety-one parts of whey by volume, the remainder being held in the curd. Two by-products of note are derived from the serum itself:

The first, Ricotta, is obtained by the second cooking of the whey, whereby a fine flocculent matter of mild savour rises to the surface and is gathered with a perforated ladle. It is drawn this morning, and is best disposed of by nightfall.

The second, Brunost, after the Norse manner, is produced by the long and patient reduction of whey upon the stove, requiring the whole of a Monday at moderate heat, whereby the milk-sugar is browned and a firm caramel-coloured cake is obtained, suitable for the slicing.

IV.Pricing Schedule

The prices below are those obtaining at the date of this paper. They are subject to no haggling, the proprietors having found such commerce disagreeable to the temper.

The dash entered against the article of cheese is not an omission. The proprietors decline to sell cheese, having formed no opinion of it, and being unwilling to traffic in a substance upon which they have not satisfied themselves.

V.Hours of Operation

The premises are open to the public upon the following days and hours, the proprietors having determined, after careful trial, that further hours are not consonant with the obligations of family and worship:

Tuesday through Saturday, from seven of the clock in the morning until the going down of the sun. On the Sabbath and on Monday the premises are closed, the Monday being given over to the slow boiling of the Brunost, which cannot be left.

VI.Conclusion

It is the modest hope of the authors that this paper may serve to dispel certain prejudices long entertained against the whey, and to direct such citizens as are of an open and inquiring disposition toward the premises behind the dairy at Pleasant Street, where the substance, together with its two principal derivatives, may be had at the prices set out in Table I above. Patronage is solicited; cheese is not.