Summertime heat often soured milk before cream could rise and be collected for making butter, so the fresh milk was made into cheese instead. Rennet (an enzyme from the lining of a calf’s stomach) was used to separate the milk into curds and whey. The whey was strained from the curds, which were packed into a wooden hoop and placed in a press to remove the remaining moisture and to form a firm cheese.  The cheese remained in the press for a day or two and then was rubbed with lard to form a rind and placed on a shelf in the “buttery” or pantry. Cheeses were checked for mold, turned, and rubbed with lard everyday. They lasted a while but grew firmer in texture and sharper in flavor as they aged. Some 18th and 19th century housewives paid for store purchases with their cheeses.  Storekeepers might sell it to traders who took it to cities or even as far away as the West Indies. The hoop and follower are missing from this press.