The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-12-23
Bu,ter-Making in Cold Weather.

But,er-Making in Cold Weather.
Some farmers wives who have excel.
lent success with their butter during the
warm months, have more or less trouble
with their churniugs as the weather be.
comes colder. The cream is thin and
watcry, and if it comes to butter at all, 1t
may be hours about it, and the butter is
white and poor, at that Cream collected
ia November 10 a cold ROOM Instead of
being firm, yellow, and grainy, like June
or September cream, seems more like the
white Of eggs-it is thin, sticky and
ropey. 4 drop Of it suspended will
string cut like the white of an egg, only
n less degree. Whe" such cream is
put i1to the churn and beaten up, it is
very much like beating up eggs. 1t
viii swell and froth, aud perhaps run all
over the ton Of the churn, but will not
make butter.
VI course, there are reasons why cream
acts in that way at this season. but they
are not generally well understood. There
IS very much that is not generally under.
stood about milk and its properties.
When; everything is favorable, good
butter is made with very little difficulty,
aud it seems a wonder that it should not
come as well under other crcumslanc
Bat as in chemistry. very slight changes
among the atoms Of matter make very
great difference in the appearance and
quality Of the substance, 80 that in but.
ter making, what seems to be Of little ac
count. really makes oil the difference be.
tween nice, sweet, firm, yellow butter,
and white, bitter froth
A very slight change among the atoms
makes all the difference between the
sour, bitter ard disagreeable taste in un.
ripe fruit, and the usciousness Of that
which is ripe. Othe: changes 10 some
Of these atoms are capable OF transform.
ing the delicious juices of our choices,
fruits to substances both disgusting and
poisonous. The chemist and microscope
have fouOd qualities in milk that com.
mon observation would fail to discover
Observation and study together have
brought out the following facts:
Pure milk cannot be kept long in the
open air without undergoing certain
changes. These changes proceed fast OF
slow. according to the temperature Of tho
air. One Of the first changes noticeable
is the rising Of the cream to the surface
This rises much faster in warm than il
cold atmosphere. The next change il
in the development Of lattice or milk
acid. When this change is perfected the
milk is thick, and il called bonny. clabbcr
This change does MT injure the value O.
the milk as food. A similar change take,
place in milk in the stomach of young an
finals. 1t is only the irst step TOWARD
digestion Lattice acid has tendency
to counteract putreiaction or decay. Thi,
change Is also fastened by warm TEN
perature. In cold weather the develop
nont Of lattice acid is SO retarded tha
other changes take place which ipjure ,b
quality, and entirely change the charac
ter, OF the milk and cream contaiped il
it. With the lattice acid is developc,
vinegar acid, and then alcohol, whicl
acts on the oily portion of the cream il
srch manner as to make i, quite i'm
possible to convert it into good butter n
matter at what temperature it may b
churned
The secret Of the beneficial effects O
scaling milk before setting the cream t
rise. is not in keeping it warm a it'll
longer time, but in destroying the seed
ofputreiaction that it may contain. TIL
more healthy the cows are, the bette
their food, the purer their water, and th
cleaner their quarters can be kept, tn
less will be the tendency to putreiactiol
in the milk, and the less need there vii
be for scaldipg it.
We have never practiced scalding. be
cause we believe more butter can be mad
from unscalded than from scalded lnilk
We have fed the best of hay, with lib
eral quantity Of grain. and supplied GU
cows With pure water and kept thei
stables clean and wholesome. But afte
all these precautions, we find it necessar
to treat cream different at this sesso
from what We do in summer weather. l
sumner the cream sours aud thick en-
readily, and when put in tho churu look
grainy, and Is as unlike November crear
as q boiled egg is unlike a raw Que.
We know of no more expressive wor
to use 10 describing the condition ths
cream should be in at the time it is pu
in the ehurn, than ripeness. IF it
ripe, and at the proper temperature,
will come to butter after a reasonabl
amount Of churning; but if it is ,bi,
sticky and bitter, and does not gradual
thickcn up by churnipg. it is unripe, an
churni. : will be labor lost, and probabl
the cream will be lost too.
1t used to be the fashion, and is no
on some farms, to have two or three pre-
tY serious spells at churning every fal
The churn will sometimes stand arouu
the stove . week or more, furnishiu
Emitting work" for every member ,
the household. A hundred and fit
years ago the trouble was laid on ii
witches. Nowadays it is "too cold," {
"too warm" and cold and hot water a,
poured 10 alternately with equally III
favorable results. Finally, after ever
member Of the family is both exhsuste
and Disputed. the whole mess goes 10 Il