Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1848-09-09
suGAR CURING or HITTER.

PERSONS who put up keg-buttcr for their
own use. or for distant market, usually salt
their butter very high This high sailing
necessarily detracls from its quality, injuries
its ready sale, and reduces its price. If we
can modify this excess of salt, by using more
palatable substances of equal efficacy as
preservatives, 1t will be an improvement
Chemists tell us that sugar is one of these
substances and experience gives us the
same information. Who is not familiar with
''sugar-cured hams!' If pork can be cured
with sugar, why may not butter be so pre-
served also is common sense inquiry.
Experience has shown that it may. Dr.
James Anderson the celebrated Agriculturist,
whose treatise "On the Management OF the
Dairy particularly with respect to the making
and curing of Butter" is still our highest aud
best authority on the subject found from some
years trial Of il, that the following named
composi,ion-thc properties of which we be-
lieve were discovered by his amiabe lady
was far preferable TO salt alone, rs ii not only
preserves the butter more efiectually from all
laint of rancidity, but makes it also look BET
ter and taste sweetcr, richer, and marrowy
than portions of the same butter cured with
common salt:
Composition--Take OF sugar, one part; OF
nitre one part and of the best Spanish great
salt (or rock salt) two parts. Beat the whole
into fine powder, mix them well together,
and put them by for use. The Doctor con-
tinues:
"Of this composition one ounce should be
put to every sixteen ounces of butter; mix
this salt thoroughly with The butter as socn
as it has been freed from milk. and put il,
without loss of time, down into the vessel
prepared TO receive it pressing il 50 close as
to leave no air holes, or any kind of cavities
within it. Smooth the surface: and if you
expect that 1t will be above day or two be-
fore you can add no more, cover it up close
with a piece of clean linen, and above that
piece of wetted parchment, or, for want of
that, fine linen dipped in melted butter, that
is exactly fitted TO the edges of the vessel all
round, SO as to exclude the air if possible
without the assistance of any wately brine;
when more butter is to be added, those cov-
erings are to be taken off. and the butter APP
piled close obout the former, pressing il down
and smoothing it as before. and SO Oh till the
vessel be full When it is quite full, let the
two covers be spread over ii with the great
est care, and let little melted butter be
poured all round the edges so as to fill up
every Granny, and eifec,ually exclude the
air. 4 little salt may be then sirewed over
the whole, and the cover be firmly fixed
down to remain close shut till it be opened
for use. Ii all this be carefully doue; the but
ter may be kept perfectly sound in this eli
mate for many years. How many years |
cannot tell but have seen it two years old,
and in every respect as sweet and sound
as when it was only month old.
at deserves to be remarked, that butter
cured in this manner does not taste well till
it has stood at least fortnight after salted
but after that period is elapsed, it eats with
rich, marrowy taste that no Other butter ever
acquires; and it tastes so little OF salt, lha,
person who has been accustomed to eat but
ter cured with common sal, only, would not
imagine it had 90; one fourth part Of the salt
that would be necessary to preserve it,
1t Is 10 be hoped some OF our farmers, on
readirg the above will follow its commenda-
tions. The composition mentioned is, we
have understood, much used in Goshen, O.
range county, New York, place famous for
lis superb butter. Great care should be taken
to get tine purest salt aud sugar That known
through the country as the "ground alum is
the best salt The sugar should be OF the
purest white--either the loaf or ''iallen loaf"
Those excellent butter makers in the Glades
of the Alleghenies would do well to" make
some experiments for themselves in this mat
ter,
WOMEN.
We women have four seasons, like yeAr,