The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-08-28
Experiments in Butter-Making.


THE first annual report of the Agri-
cultural Experiment Station at Cornell
University contains statement by Prof.
L. B. Arnold of the results of series
of experiments to ascertain the eff
feet OF the oxygen of the air on cream
with respect to churning and the quality
of the butter.
The first experiment was with morn
ing's milk. Two litres of milk were
placed in bottle holding four itres,
the space above was filled with oxygen,
and the bottle shaken to saturate the
milk with the gas. The bottle was
then closed with a ground-glass stop
per, and set aside in temperature
of 62.6 degs. Fair. Another bottle was
prepared with carbonic acid gas above
the milk in place of oxygen, and set
aside with the first one. After forty
eight hours all the cream had risen in
both samples, and both were little
sour. One-nalf of the sour milk was
drawn from the bottom of the bottles
with siphon, and the remaining cream
and milk were churned by shaking the
bottles. OF the result the report says:
''ln the bottle containing oxygen,
butter began to appear in eighteen min
utes, and it was taken out in twenty
four minutes. In the bottle containing
carbonic acid, butter began to appear
in twenty eight minutes, and was taken
out in thirty-tive minutes, the butter not
gathering quite so readily as in the
other bottle The product in the two
cases was unlike; that from the cream
kept under oxygen had a lively, rich
and delicious flavor, while that from
cream under carbonic acid, from which
oxygen was excluded, had compare
lively insipid flavor, and more of a
greasy taste as well as feel, when
melting in the mouth. To test the real
ity of this difference went into anoth-
er room and had samples of each
brought in several times for me to place
them, which was done every time at
once, and unerringly. Salt was applied
to each at the usual rate for keeping
butter. and the parcels were wrapped
in white paper and set in cool room,
and occasionally examined. There be-
ing no fire in the room through the cold
weather the temperature was low and
the change slow, and neither sample
was entirely spoiled at the end of three
months. The one from milk under car
bonic acid began first to show change,
and at the end of the time was badly
tainted, while the sample from milk
under oxygen was very little changed;
the difference in quality which ap-
peared at first steadily grew wider.
A similar test with nights milk of the
same day showed nearly the same re-
suits in the production and quality of
the butter. In the bottle containing
oxygen, butter began to appear in
eleven and a half minutes, and was
taken up in sixteen minutes. In that
containing carbonic acid the butter, as
before, was slower in coming, and had
a much lower flavor than the other.
The samples were set without salt in
The laboratory, where the temperature
was sixty-eight degrees to seventy-four
degrees Fair. In two weeks the car
bonic acid butter began to mold and to
undergo material change, becoming
strong and greasy, and in month was
entirely spoiled. The oxygenized speci-
men, on the contrary, showed but little
change after six weeks, and in three
months did not mold as much as the
other had done in two weeks.
Other experiments with milk from
the same lot showed that milk when
left standing in the open air churned
better and produced butter superior to
that placed under carbonic acid-that
is, from which oxygen was excluded
but not equal to that mixed with oxy-
gen. In every instance, the flavor of
the butter was higher when the milk
was exposed to oxygen than when it
was not.
The practical differences from these
interesting experiments are: /, that
milk fats improve in flavor under a
short exposure to the oxygen of pure
air; 2, that butter made from milk thus
exposed gains in keeping qualities; 3,
that the greater ease with which cream
will churn when it has acquired some
age is not alone due to the effect of
acidity, but to the action of the air
uponit.
ONLY question of time Asking The