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daily nebraskan
UNL dairy store motto: fSmile, say cheese 9
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The screen door at the entrance could
be from the Walton's front porch while the
white' tile walls add to the drug store-soda
fountain atmosphere.
It may not be modern but 25 cent ice
cream cones and a variety of cheeses keep
neighborhood residents and many others
coming back to the East Campus dairy
store.
The store serves as the sales outlet for
the ice cream, sour cream and nine types of
cheese produced in the UNL dairy plant in
Filley Hall.
The dairy store and plant were started
in 1896 and moved to its present location
in 1917, said John Rushing, food plant
manager.
The plant is a teaching and research
laboratory for daily students, in addition
to supplying the university with some of its
dairy needs.
Operated by the department of food
science and technology, the plant manufac
tures 32,000 pounds of cheese per year
Rusing said.
Production of cheese has been increased
from one to two batches per day to keep
up with the expected Christmas rush, he
said.
Most cheese takes four to five hours to
produce and is aged from three months to
a year, depending on the type.
Husker cheese, developed in the mid
thirties by former professor AP. Downs, is
a light cheese which is only aged for three
months. Aging gives a cheese flavor and
sharpness, Rushing said.
The cheese production begins by filling
a vat with 400 gallons of milk, which is
warmed to 88 degrees Fahrenheit. This
milk will produce 150-120 pounds of
cheese, depending on the type, the rest is
waste, Rushing said.
A bacterial culture is added to the milk
and allowed to sit for one hour. Next the
enzyme rennet is added, beginning the
curding process.
The cheese curd separates from the
whey which is drained off as waste. The
curd is rinsed with water, cooled, salted
and scooped into a press.
After a day in the press, the block is
wrapped and sealed and ready to be stored
for aging.
Production of ice cream mix also takes
about four hours, Rushing said. Fruit or
flavoring is added to the basic mix and for
zen for a day before it is sold.
The most difficult part of the process
is keeping the flavor and texture of the
cheese the same from batch to batch, said
Merlyn Znamenacek, "Zim," the plant
supervisor.
Even when the same recipe is followed
shght variations in the ingredients can
change the quality of the cheese, he said
Story by Sara Martens
Photographs by
Jerry McBride
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monday, november6, 1978