Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 137

=CHAMPAGNE'.= See WINES.

=CHAPS.= These are too well known to require description. Chapped hands are common amongst persons with a languid circulation, who are continually "dabbling" in water during cold weather. Chapped lips generally occur in persons with pallid, bluish, moist lips, who are much exposed to the wind in dry cold weather; especially in those who are continually moving from heated apartments to the external air. The application of a little COLD CREAM, POMATUM, SPERMACETI OINTMENT, LARD, or any similar article, will generally prevent chaps on the lips, and chaps and chilblains on the hands. Persons employed in oil and tallow works, or about oil, and who have consequently their hands continually in contact with greasy matter, never suffer from these things. A little oil or unguent of any kind, well rubbed on the hands on going to rest (removing the superfluous portion with a cloth), will not only preserve them from cold, but tend to render them both soft and white. See CHILBLAIN.

=CHAR (Potted).= The flesh of the _Salmo Alpinus_ (Linn.), or trout of the Alps, common in the lakes of Lapland, preserved by the common process of potting.

=CHAR'BON-ROUX= [Fr.]. See CHARCOAL, WOOD (_below_).

=CHAR'COAL.= Charcoal is made by charring organic substances, such as wood, bone, blood, &c., and is, in other words, the fixed residuum of vegetable or animal matter exposed to a high temperature out of contact with atmospheric air.

There are several different varieties of charcoal, the chief of which, however, are wood and animal charcoal.

=Charcoal, Animal.= _Syn._ ANIMAL BLACK, BONE BLACK, IVORY BLACK, CARBO ANIMALIS. The charcoal obtained by igniting bone in close vessels, but often applied likewise to any charcoal obtained from animal matter.

_Commercial._ Bones (deprived of their grease by boiling) are broken to pieces, and put into small cast-iron pots, varying from 3/8 to 1/2 an inch in thickness. Two of these being filled, are dexterously placed with their mouths together and then luted with loam. A number of these vessels are then placed side by side and piled on each other, in an oven resembling a potter's kiln, to the number of 100 or 150, or even more. The fire is next kindled, and the heat kept up strongly for 10 or 12 hours, according to circ.u.mstances, until the process is completed. The whole is then allowed to cool before opening the pots.

A more economical method is by distillation, as under:--

Bones (previously boiled for their grease) are introduced into retorts similar to those used in gas works, and heat being applied, the volatile products are conveyed away by iron pipes to cisterns where the condensable portion is collected. As soon as the process of distillation is finished, the solid residuum in the retorts, while still red hot, is removed through their lower ends into wrought-iron canisters, which are instantly closed by air-tight covers and luted over. These are then raised to the ground by a crane, and set aside to cool.

The bones, having been carbonised, are ground in a mill, and the resulting coa.r.s.e powder, sorted by sieves into two kinds, one, granular, somewhat resembling gunpowder, for decolorising liquids, and the other, quite fine, to be used as a pigment. The first is sold under the name of animal charcoal; the second as bone or ivory black. The latter and other fine varieties of animal charcoal are fully described under the head of BLACK PIGMENTS.

_Uses, &c._ This crude animal charcoal possesses the valuable property of taking lime and other saline matter from syrups and other aqueous solutions, especially organic ones, at the same time that it decolours them. Its power as a decoloriser may be tested by adding it to a solution of brown sugar or of mola.s.ses, or to water containing 1/1000 part of indigo dissolved in sulphuric acid. The test should be made in a small gla.s.s tube. By well washing and carefully reburning it, this charcoal may be used any number of times. As a decoloriser and deodoriser, animal charcoal is vastly superior to vegetable charcoal.

Dr Stenhouse has invented a charcoal respirator to cover over the mouth and nostrils of a person going into an infected atmosphere. Charcoal is also used with excellent effect to prevent the escape of noxious vapours and offensive effluvia from the ventilating openings of sewers. The charcoal condenses and oxidises the escaping sewer gas in its pores. Dr Garrod has proposed animal charcoal as a general antidote in cases of poisoning.

PREPARED ANIMAL CHARCOAL. Hydrochloric acid, 1 lb.; water, 1 pint; mix, add bone black, 7 lbs.; make a paste; in 2 or 3 days stir in boiling water, 1 quart; and the next day wash it with fresh water until the washings cease to affect litmus paper or a solution of carbonate of sodium; then collect it in a cloth, and drain, press, and dry it; lastly, heat it to redness, as before. Used to decolour syrups, &c.; and occasionally by the distillers and rectifiers.

The most powerful charcoal is prepared by calcining blood, and well washing the residue, and which is the method of the last 'London Pharmacopia.' The B. P. directs it to be made by burning bones in a closed vessel.

_Concluding Remarks._ Animal charcoal, however prepared, if intended to be used as a deodoriser or decoloriser, should be kept thoroughly excluded from the air, as by exposure it loses all its valuable properties, and becomes absolutely inert. Freshly burnt charcoal is therefore to be employed whenever it can be obtained.

=Charcoal, Wood.= _Syn._ VEG'ETABLE CHARCOAL; CAR'BO LIG'NI, L. The residue obtained after heating wood without access of air to about 572 Fahr. It is extremely porous, and retains the structure of the wood from which it is derived. It consists essentially of carbon and of the fixed or inorganic matter which exists in wood; but if carbonisation be imperfectly effected, it may contain a sensible amount of hydrogen.

Charcoal burning is effected in the open air in piles or stacks provided with a yielding cover, in pits, in closed chambers of brick or stone, and in iron retorts heated externally like common gas retorts. The latter method is only practised by the manufacturers of pyroligneous acid and gunpowder.

CHARCOAL FOR FUEL, &c. The method of pile burning is that which is most extensively practised. Pieces of wood of equal length are piled concentrically round a sort of chimney formed by driving 3 stakes in the ground; those nearest the centre are almost vertical, and the surrounding pieces have a slight but gradually increasing inclination; a second row, and in the case of very large piles even a third, may be stacked in a similar manner one above the other. The pile is covered with turf and soil, and kindled by filling the s.p.a.ce within the 3 central stakes with easily inflammable wood, which is ignited. The character of the smoke which issues from vents made in the piles indicates exactly the degrees of carbonisation in different parts. When the charcoal is drawn from the pile it is extinguished by cold water, or if that is not at hand, by charcoal dust or dry soil. In some parts of Sweden the wood is charred in large rectangular stacks, and in China the method of charring in pits is practised.

CHARCOAL FOR GUN'POWDER; CYL'INDER CHARCOAL. The charcoal employed in the manufacture of gunpowder is burnt in close iron cylinders, and has hence received the name of cylinder charcoal. For this and other nice purposes it is essential that the last portion of the tar and vinegar should be suffered to escape, and the reabsorption of the crude vapours prevented by cutting off the communication between the cylinders and the condensing apparatus; as without this precaution, on the fire being withdrawn, a retrograde movement of the product takes place, and the charcoal is much reduced in quality. Alder and willow are the woods chiefly used for making charcoal at Waltham Abbey. The Dutch white willow, and after that the Huntingdon willow, are said to yield the best charcoal for gunpowder. The charcoal from the cylinders of the pyroligneous acid (wood vinegar) works is also called cylinder charcoal, and is that chiefly used for chemical purposes; but it is inferior to that prepared for gunpowder.

CHARCOAL FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES. The box-wood charcoal, employed in voltaic electricity, is prepared by putting prismatic pieces of box-wood, about 1 inch long by 1/2 inch thick, into a crucible, which is then filled with clean, dry sand, covered up, and exposed to a red heat for about an hour.

_Uses, &c._ These are numerous and varied. Charcoal is extensively employed as a fuel; and in metallurgy for tempering metals, making steel, &c.; reduced to powder, it is used to surround vessels and bodies required to retain their heat for some time; a coating of charcoal, formed on piles and stakes of wood by charring them, promotes their preservation. Fresh burnt charcoal, in coa.r.s.e powder, restores tainted meat and putrid water, discolours vegetable solutions, deodorises fetid substances, and withdraws lime from syrups filtered through it. Exposed on trays it is used as a disinfectant and deodoriser in the wards of hospitals and in dissecting rooms, also as a material for water filters.

In _medicine_, charcoal is princ.i.p.ally used as a deodoriser and disinfectant, either in the form of powder or made into a poultice. It has been given internally in dyspepsia, diarrha, dysentery, heartburn, agues, constipation, sickness of pregnancy, and various other diseases, with advantage. As a prophylactic of cholera and fevers it is invaluable and superior to all other substances. It forms the best tooth powder known, as it both whitens the teeth and deodorises the breath.--_Dose_, 10 gr. to a teaspoonful, or more _ad libitum_. An ointment made with lard and charcoal has been successfully employed in some skin diseases. In all cases, to be useful, the charcoal must be both fresh-burnt and fresh-powdered, and carefully preserved, out of contact with the air, until about to be administered. Fresh carbonised bread forms an excellent charcoal, both for a prophylactic and a tooth powder.

Charcoal varies in its qualities according to the substance from which it is prepared: that of the soft woods (willow or alder) is best for crayons and gunpowder; that of the hard woods for fuel, and for blowpipe supports.

That made by a low red heat, not exceeding cherry red, and which has a dull surface, is the most valuable. If the heat be carried much beyond this point, the charcoal acquires a brilliant surface, and deteriorates in quality. Chestnut charcoal is preferred by smiths for forging, as it not only burns slowly, but deadens as soon as the blast ceases. Areca-nut charcoal is preferred as a dentifrice; but the willow charcoal or box-wood charcoal is usually subst.i.tuted for it by shopkeepers.

_Ant., &c._ Poisoning or suffocation, resulting from respiring the fumes of burning charcoal, has been already alluded to, and the treatment briefly pointed out. See CARBONIC ANHYDRIDE.

=CHAR'GES (for Cattle).= See VETERINARY MEDICINE.

=CHAR'RING (Surface).= The operation by which the surface of wood is carbonised, to prevent its decay from exposure to air and moisture. Stakes and piles are generally thus treated before they are driven into the ground. Casks are charred on the inside by coopers when they are intended to hold water. In both these cases the fire is commonly applied directly to the wood. A new method has, however, been lately employed with apparent success. This consists in washing the wood with the strongest oil of vitriol. In this way not only the outer surface, but the surface of all the cracks and holes, get carbonised, which is not the case when heat is employed. It succeeds admirably with musty casks and vats.

=CHATHAM LIGHT.= A flash light used for military signals. It is produced by blowing a mixture of pulverised rosin and magnesium dust through the flame of a spirit lamp.

=CHEESE.= _Syn._ CA'SEUM, CA'SEUS, L. The curd of milk compressed into a solid ma.s.s. That of commerce is usually salted and dried, and in some varieties it is also coloured and flavoured.

The process of cheese-making is one which is eminently interesting and scientific, and which, in every gradation, depends on principles which chemistry has developed and ill.u.s.trated. When a vegetable or mineral acid is added to milk, and heat applied, a coagulum is formed, which, when separated from the liquid portion, const.i.tutes cheese. Neutral salts, earthy and metallic salts, sugar, and gum Arabic, as well as some other substances, also produce the same effect; but that which answers the purpose best, and which is almost exclusively used by dairy farmers, is rennet, or the mucous membrane of the last stomach of the calf. Alkalies dissolve this curd at a boiling heat, and acids again precipitate it. The solubility of casein in milk is occasioned by the presence of the phosphates and other salts of the alkalies. In fresh milk these substances may be readily detected by the property it possesses of restoring the colour of reddened litmus paper. The addition of an acid neutralises the alkali, and so precipitates the curd in an insoluble state. The philosophy of cheese-making is thus expounded by Liebig:--

"The acid indispensable to the coagulation of milk is not added to the milk in the preparation of cheese, but it is formed in the milk at the expense of the milk-sugar present. A small quant.i.ty of water is left in contact with a small quant.i.ty of a calf's stomach for a few hours, or for a night; the water absorbs so minute a portion of the mucous membrane as to be scarcely ponderable; this is mixed with milk; its state of transformation is communicated (and this is a most important circ.u.mstance), not to the cheese, but to the milk-sugar, the elements of which transpose themselves into lactic acid, which neutralises the alkalies, and thus causes the separation of the cheese. By means of litmus paper the process may be followed and observed through all its stages; the alkaline reaction of the milk ceases as soon as the coagulation begins. If the cheese is not immediately separated from the whey, the formation of lactic acid continues, the fluid turns acid, and the cheese itself pa.s.ses into a state of decomposition.

"When cheese-curd is kept in a cool place a series of transformations takes place, in consequence of which it a.s.sumes entirely new properties; it gradually becomes semi-transparent, and more or less soft, throughout the whole ma.s.s; it exhibits a feebly acid reaction, and develops the characteristic caseous odour. Fresh cheese is very sparingly soluble in water, but after having been left to itself for two or three years it becomes (especially if all the fat be previously removed) almost completely soluble in cold water, forming with it a solution which, like milk, is coagulated by the addition of the acetic or any mineral acid. The cheese, which whilst fresh is insoluble, returns during the maturation, or ripening, as it is called, to a state similar to that in which it originally existed in the milk. In those English, Dutch, and Swiss cheeses which are nearly inodorous, and in the superior kinds of French cheese, the caseine of the milk is present in its unaltered state.

"The odour and flavour of the cheese is owing to the decomposition of the b.u.t.ter; the non-volatile acids, the margaric and oleic acids, and the volatile butyric acid, capric and caproic acids are liberated in consequence of the decomposition of glycerin. Butyric acid imparts to cheese its characteristic caseous odour, and the differences in its pungency or aromatic flavour depend upon the proportion of free butyric, capric, and caproic acids present." In the cheese of certain dairies and districts, valerianic acid has been detected along with the other acids just referred to. Messrs Jljenko and Laskowski found this acid in the cheese of Limbourg, and M. Bolard in that of Roquefort.

"The transition of the insoluble into soluble casein depends upon the decomposition of the phosphate of lime by the margaric acid of the b.u.t.ter; margarate of lime is formed, whilst the phosphoric acid combines with the casein, forming a compound soluble in water.

"The bad smell of inferior kinds of cheese, especially those called meagre or poor cheeses, is caused by certain fetid products containing sulphur, and which are formed by the decomposition or putrefaction of the casein.

The alteration which the b.u.t.ter undergoes (that is, in becoming rancid), or which occurs in the milk-sugar still present, being transmitted to the casein, changes both the composition of the latter substance and its nutritive qualities.

"The princ.i.p.al conditions for the preparation of the superior kinds of cheese (other obvious circ.u.mstances being of course duly regarded) are a careful removal of the whey, which holds the milk-sugar in solution, and a low temperature during the maturation or ripening of the cheese."

Cheese differs vastly in quality and flavour, according to the method employed in its manufacture and the richness of the milk of which it is made. Much depends upon the quant.i.ty of cream it contains, and consequently, when a superior quality of cheese is desired, cream is frequently added to the curd. This plan is adopted in the manufacture of Stilton cheese and others of a like description. The addition of a pound or two of b.u.t.ter to the curd for a middling size cheese also vastly improves the quality of the product. To ensure the richness of the milk, not only should the cows be properly fed, but certain breeds chosen. Those of Alderney, Cheddar, Cheshire, Gloucestershire, Guernsey, and North Wiltshire deserve a preference in this respect.

The materials employed in making cheese are milk and rennet. Rennet is used either fresh or salted and dried; generally in the latter state. The milk may be of any kind, according to the quality of the cheese required.

Cows' milk is that generally employed; but occasionally ewes' milk is used; and sometimes, though more rarely, that from goats.

In preparing his cheese, the dairy farmer puts the greater portion of the milk into a large tub, to which he adds the remainder, sufficiently heated to raise the temperature to that of new milk. The whole is then whisked together, the rennet or rennet liquor added, and the tub covered over. It is now allowed to stand until completely "turned," when the curd is gently struck down several times with the skimming-dish, after which it is allowed to subside. The vat covered with cheese-cloth is next placed on a "horse" or "ladder" over the tub, and filled with curd by means of the skimmer, care being taken to allow as little as possible of the oily particles or b.u.t.ter to run back with the whey. The curd is pressed down with the hands, and more added as it sinks. This process is repeated until the curd rises to about two inches above the edge. The newly formed cheese, thus partially separated from the whey, is now placed in a clean tub, and a proper quant.i.ty of salt added, as well as of annotta, when that colouring is used, after which a board is placed over and under it, and pressure applied for about 2 or 3 hours. The cheese is next turned out and surrounded by a fresh cheese-cloth, and then again submitted to pressure in the cheese press for 8 or 10 hours, after which it is commonly removed from the press, salted all over, and again pressed for 15 to 20 hours. The quality of the cheese especially depends on this part of the process, as if any of the whey is left in the cheese it rapidly becomes bad-flavoured.

Before placing it in the press the last time the common practice is to pare the edges smooth and sightly. It now only remains to wash the outside of the cheese in warm whey or water, to wipe it dry, and to colour it with annotta or reddle, as is usually done.

The storing of the newly-made cheese is the next point that engages the attention of the maker and wholesale dealer. The same principles which influence the maturation or ripening of fermented liquors also operate here. In England, a cool cellar, neither damp nor dry, and which is uninfluenced by change of weather or season, is commonly regarded as the best for the purpose. If possible, the temperature should on no account be permitted to exceed 50 or 52 Fahr. at any portion of the year. An average of about 45 is preferable when it can be procured. A place exposed to sudden changes of temperature is as unfit for storing cheese as it is for storing beer. "The quality of Rochefort cheese, which is prepared from sheep's milk, and is very excellent, depends exclusively upon the places where the cheeses are kept after pressing and during maturation. Those are cellars, communicating with mountain grottoes and caverns, which are kept constantly cool, at about 41 to 42 Fahr., by currents of air from clefts in the mountains. The value of these cellars as storehouses varies with their property of maintaining an equable and low temperature. Giron mentions that a certain cellar, the construction of which had cost only 480_l._ (12,000 francs), was sold for 8600_l._ (215,000 francs), being found to maintain a suitable temperature, a convincing proof of the importance attached to temperature in the preparation of these superior cheeses." (Liebig.)

It will thus be seen that very slight differences in the materials, in the preparation, or in storing of the cheese, materially influence the quality and flavour of this article. The richness of the milk--the addition to or subtraction of cream from the milk--the separation of the curd from the whey with or without compression--the salting of the curd--the collection of the curd, either whole or broken, before pressing--the addition of colouring matter, as annotta or saffron, or of flavouring--the place and method of storing--and the length of time allowed for maturation, all tend to alter the taste and odour of the cheese in some or other particular, and that in a way readily perceptible to the palate of the connoisseur. No other alimentary substance appears to be so seriously affected by slight variations in the quality of the materials from which it is made, or by such apparently trifling differences in the methods of preparing it.

_Var._ The varieties of cheese met with in commerce are very numerous, and differ greatly from each other in richness, colour, and flavour. These are commonly distinguished by names indicative of the places in which they have been manufactured, or of the quality of the materials from which they have been prepared. Thus, we have Dutch, Gloucester, Stilton, skimmed-milk, raw-milk, cream, and other cheeses; names which explain themselves. The following are the princ.i.p.al varieties met with in Europe:--

CHEESE, BRICKBAT. From its form; made in Wiltshire of new milk and cream.

CHEESE, CHEDDAR. A fine, spongy kind of cheese, the eyes or vesicles of which contain a rich oil; made up into round, thick cheeses, of considerable size (150 to 200 lbs.).

CHEESE, CHESHIRE. From new milk, without skimming, the morning's milk being mixed with that of the preceding evening, previously warmed, so that the whole may be brought to the heat of new milk. To this the rennet is added, in less quant.i.ty than is commonly used for other kinds of cheese.

On this point much of the flavour and mildness of the cheese is said to depend. A piece of dried rennet, of the size of half-a-crown, put into a pint of water over night, and allowed to stand until the next morning, is sufficient for 18 or 20 gallons of milk. In large, round, thick cheeses (100 to 200 lbs. each). They are generally solid, h.o.m.ogeneous, and dry, and friable rather than viscid.

CHEESE, COTTENHAM. A rich kind of cheese, in flavour and consistence not unlike Stilton, from which, however, it differs in shape, being flatter and broader than the latter.

CHEESE, CREAM. From the "strippings" (the last of the milk drawn from the cow at each milking), from a mixture of milk and cream, or from raw cream only, according to the quality desired. It is usually made in small oblong, square, or rounded cakes, a general pressure only (that of a 2 or 4 lb. weight) being applied to press out the whey. After twelve hours it is placed upon a board or wooden trencher, and turned every day until dry.

It ripens in about three weeks. A little salt is generally added, and frequently a little powdered lump sugar.