Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-01-18


IS never safe, except by accident. Then
they wash and work and work and wash
the butter in fresh water, until they have
lump of salvy, sticky stuff, with the
flavor and grain all worked out of it. If,
by any means, the butter, when churned,
Is not sufficiently hard to allow pressing
out the buttermilk with the ladle, use
strong brine instead of fresh water
While 1t is being worked, the brine helps
to salt 1t, and adds to the grain and flavor,
and also the color. Fresh water seftens
the grain and extracts the flavor, and is
injurious to the keeping qualities. In
TACT fresh water takes out qualities that
can never be replaced. For immediate
CONSUMPTION, there is less risk in using
1t, but what we want is to keep all the
rich, peculiar flavor in the cream and
butter, TO preserve its keeping qualities
and flavor, and to do nothing to injure it.
When butter is made from pure milk,
with all the care and attention it needs
until it is placed upon the table for use,
we have something very appetizing and
desirable. Keep all the purities in it; take
nothing out. BY so doing, we have some
thing tolook at and taste with pleasure.
When the butter is taken from the churn
into the bowl, and all the buttermilk run
OFT that can we'll be with but little work
ing, have ready some brine as strong and
cold as can be, and soon the butter will
become solid. The brine will draw out
the buttermilk just as it will extract blood
from fresh meat. If the butter is hard
enough, press it gently through the brine
until the buttermilk is all out, and no
longer. 1t may take two or more appli-
cations of brine to do the work we'll. Do
rxrnr tha hut 4-@ IL.
grain is one quality essential to long
keeping. If that is crushed, sticky or
salvy butter is the result Better leave
a very small quantity of buttermilk in,
than work it too dry, and thus break the
grain. But this need not be, as all Can
be worked out safely, and no harm be
done to the butter. Be sure and stop at
the right time. If the housewife care
fully superintends her servants in carry
ing on that part of the dairy belonging to
her, she should carefully watch the work
here, as here is the only place in butter
making that the work can be overdone;
not but that there are other points requir-
ing her careful Watchfulness. Do not
spoil the grain of the butter by overwork-
ing. Leave 1t as coarse as possible, and
do not bleach it by using fresh water.
After this washing in the brine Though
this is not needed if the butter is hard or
crumply), the ladle will soon press it to-
gether. Salt it with one ounce of the best
rock salt, ground very fine, to a pound of
fresh butter (Which has been weighed, not
guessed at), work the salt evenly into
every part of the butter, care being taken
to avoid streaks. That part having the
least salt, or none at all, will be of light
color, while that having the most salt will
have higher or richer color. When
worked the second time the streaks will
be difficult to work out, unless the butter
is worked to salve, the grain destroyed,
and thus injured for long keeping-and,
in fact, for immediate use-and it is
sticky and unpalatable.
There are many causes by which the
grain of butter may be injured. The
milk may have been so badly managed
that the proper grain could not appear;
breed of COWS, their feed, care and gen.
eral treatment; using the milk too soon
after ca1ving; using gargety milk, or that
from the COWS which are IN some way dis
eased; allowing the COWS to drink i'm
pure water; filthy way of milking;
OdOrs coming in contact with the milk
from filthy yards and stables; unclean
pals and pans ill-ventilated, filthy rooms
in which the milk is set; cream allowed
to remain too long before being skinned :;
cream exposed to foul odors before being
churned; improper treatment of cream at
churning; water, and perhaps ice, added
to the milk or cream to make it cool, or
hot water used to warm it.