Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-01-14
Butter-Making in Winter.

Winter butter has no very enviable re.
putation anywhere, and compared with that
made in June, seems an entirely different arti-
Gle. OF course there are reasons for this
let us enumerate some of them.
l.. The character of the food is changed
from green and succulent heritage, to dry hay
Or more generally cornstalks and straw. There
is really very little butter in the latter.
2. The season is changed from mild and
warm, to cold, bleak, and uncomfortable.
There is constant demand for fuel to keep
up the animal heat; this is partly at the ex-
pense of the butter product.
3. The management of the milk becomes
dif6eult. IF kept in cellar, and little
above freezing, the milk becomes bitter before
the cream rises; if allowed to freeze, the
cream rises at once, but is injured in quality,
and will produce very white butter; if kept
in the kitchen pantry. whel very warm DUR
ing the day and cold at night, it does not
rise well, and apt to be bitter and acid.
Other reasons might be mentioned, but they
will readily suggest themselves to the reader.
Let us see what caa be proposed to remedy
the difficulties.
l. Feed well--not dry food alone-but
grain and roots. as substitute tor grass,
Carrots, turnips, beets, cabbages, etc. are all
useful in keeping up the quality Of the milk.
Let their fodder be cut. and some nutritious
slop be provided, if roots are not to be bad.
and it is we'll to cut the fodder in any case,
2. The comfort of COWS should be carefully
attended to. While they suffer from cold and
filth, or foul air, they cannot yield as good
milk as when in warm clean stables, or in
well Uttered and sheltered yards. Water
should also be proyided--'it is the more need
ed when dry forage is eonsummed'--and it
should be so arranged that every animal could
drink at will, A supply of salt is also neees-
sary.
8. 1t is difficult to get proper tempera-
ture for raising cream perfectly in winter.
Some butter-makers scald their milk when
first drawn from the cow-others let it stand
twelve hours, and then place the pan contain
ing the milk in a larger one filled with boiling
water--and allowing it to stand twelve hours
longer find the cream raised perfectly. 1t is
said that more and better butter can be made
in this way than in any other.
Chuming in winter, as usually managed,
is often serious operation. The cream
stands too long notwithstanding very
sour and bitter. Or, it is too cold and froths
up, filling the churn but prodcuring no butter
though churned for hours. Let the cream
pot sit near the fire for few hours before
churnng-stirring it occasionally, that all
may get warm alike, and when it is at a pro-
per temperature, 55deg--f feeling a little warm
to the fnguer--the churning will be an easy
half-hour's job, and the butter as yellow and
hard as the season will admit of.
We have found that cows generally gave
better milk, when fed on well cured corn fod-
der, than on second-rate hay, and with " a
mess" of roots, apples, Or pumpkins, would
yield milk of very fair quality. Attention to
securing supply of proper food for COWS,
and better care Of them, would 60 far to re-
deem the name Of winter butter from its pre-
sent character. J.HB.