Vat
The open tank or kettle in which milk is warmed, set, cut and cooked to make cheese.
Also: cheese vat, kettle, cuve, caldaia
The vat is where cheesemaking happens. In small dairies it is an open rectangular or round tank, jacketed so hot water or steam can warm it; in Alpine and Italian dairies it is a big copper kettle, bell-shaped for Parmigiano Reggiano, whose copper is said to help flavour and is required by some specifications. Milk is warmed in the vat, cultured, set with rennet, then cut, stirred and cooked, before the curd and whey are separated. In large dairies, closed stainless steel vats hold tens of thousands of litres and do the cutting and stirring mechanically. A home cheesemaker's vat may be just a large steel pot on the stove.