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The Cheese Room
The largest object in the cheese room is the Oneida cheese vat, which was shipped from Almira, New York, to Pipe Spring soon after the fort was completed in 1872. During the first seven years of the fort's occupation, the ranch manager's family would produce between 50 and 60 pounds of cheese each day, most of which would be taken to St. George, Utah, as provisions for Mormon laborers building a temple. The process of making the large wheels of cheese was fairly straightforward, but very time consuming.
Picture of cheese room with vat, press and other equipment.
Picture of cheese press.Between 80 and 100 gallons of milk would be poured into the vat. Once the milk was heated to approximately 92 degrees F, a thickening agent, called rennet, was added. When the mixture reached the consistency of a thick gelatin, it was cut with a knife (sometimes called a cheese harp) into small chunks called curds.

This mixture was then transferred to the cheese press (inset photo above), where the milky substance, called the whey, was pressed out. The resulting wheel of cheese would weigh approximately 50 to 60 pounds. Each day one wheel of cheese was		 produced, approximately the size of the model shown in the photo above, on the top of the barrel to the right of the cheese press. The cheese produced would most closely resemble a mild cheddar.

To transport the cheese and butter to St. George, Utah, without melting or turning rancid, the ranchers packed the butter and cheese in wooden barrels surrounded by flour. They found that the flour had enough insulative value to protect the products during the four-day wagon trip, even in the high summer temperatures of the Arizona Strip.

We hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of Winsor Castle.
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