The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-09-18
On the Science and Chemistry Of But.
ter Making.

THERE is no other branch of business
either mechanical oragricultural where
there is such diversity of methods and
implements used, as in butter making.
Every dairyman has his own views how
cream should be handled, what style of
churn will make the best butter, and
how the butter should be finished
There is not one dairyman in a
thousand that has ever studied the
chemistry of butter so that he can tell
why he prefers his method to that OF
others. Again they cannot agree upon
the merits of different packages of
butter, for each one has a cultivated
taste derived by eating certain grade
of butter. Now, when butter is Judged
by its flavor and odor alone it is no
wonder that there is such dissatisfac-
ton at fairs where premiums are given
on butter. Now, if the keeping quail
ties were included with its flavor and
odor, and microscope was used to
ascertain the per cent. of whole globules
it contains, then dairymen would know
what essential points butter must have
to be called perfect. Many of our
creameries make as fine favored butter
as perhaps ever can be produced
when it is new, but if it is kept six
or twelve months, it has lost its fine
| flavor. What this. country needs
most in the improvements In
dairying is, to learn the art of making
gilt.edged butter that can be kept for
years without deteriorating. The ques-
ton arises how CAN'T be done? There
is but one answer. Dairymen must
furnish rich well favored milk and
churn it before the butter globules re-
ceive any faint, and machinery that
will disrobe the globules and leave them
as perfect in form as well cleaned clio
yer seed; then finish the butter without
washing the globules; then dairymen
will be as far advanced in their art as
millers are in theirs. Millers have
spent millions of dollars in the past few
years to perfect machinery that would
not injure the form of the flour globules
while being separated from. each other
and have reyolutionized the art of
making flour, so that no fancy flour is
made by the old style machinery. The
quality of bread depends much upon the
per cent: Of whole flour globules it con-
tains, for all the broken ones sour.
while the whole ones raise the bread.
1t does not injure the flavor of butter
by destroying the form of the butter
globule while churning, if the butter is
consumed while new; neither does it in
jure the flavor of a hard apple by bruis-
ing it if us not kept too long. aue-
Dairymen, with their thousands of
patented churns have not got one that
will preserve a larger per cent. of the
oil globules than the old dash churn,
such as was used before this country
was discovered. Although dairymen
have spent millions of dollars trying to
learn the art ofomaking butter for LONG
keeping, there are various causes why
they have failed. The. chief one is
they could not get machinery to dis
robe the butter globules without de-
stroying'the form of at least eighty-fve
per cent; then when they had finished
the butter it would not contain more
than from one to five per cent Now it
is no wonder to any. one that has made
the chemistry of butter a1study that
such butter could not be kept for years
without deteriorating. One of the chief
causes why inventors of dairy implea
ments have not perfected a patent
churn is false theory that has been
believed for ages that is that the pei
licles were worn off while churning,
and milk or cream must receive either
pressure, or friction, or violence in
some manner to wear them off, O theo-
ry challenge anyone to prove in any
manner. The writer has been farmer
and builder of Touring mills and in
ventor of dairy implements off and on
for thirty years; has made the chemistry
of both flour and butter practical
study, and until within the past year
supposed the pellicle was worn
off while churning. Since then l have
discarded that theory and adopted the
theory that the pellicle is removed
either by pressing or rubbing the
globule SO as to destroy its natural form
and break the pellicle, or by mingling
air through the milk.-Moses Hxtchiqa-
son, IN american Dairy-naan.