1674 does seem somewhat ancient but I was in fact referring to the interesting link which Austin provided which describes the long history of cheese-making. http://www.cheesemaking.com/includes/modules/jWallace/OnLineNews/FeedbackPics/ 06_11/Friends/pics/Meidieval.pdf Coincidentally I was just watching the programme about the Victorian Farm on TV tonight which provided a practical demonstration of the cheese-making process. The Victorians had all sorts of fancy new gadgets to make the process easier. For those of you in the UK you can catch up on the series on the BBC I Player (cheese-making is episode 5). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gn2bl Debbie