The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-01-18
BUTTER MAKING.

MIR. Hiram Smith, of Sheboygan Falls,
Wis, writes to the editor of The Jeffer-
son County Union on the topic of
premium butter-making: 1.-The subject
might easily be spun into long article,
but the essentials to success can be
briefly told. Premium butter can only
be made (where the competition is
sharp when all, or nearly all, the
conditions are favorable. The most
important condition. will state it
stronger and say, it is positive necessity
that the dairymen competing for prize
with any hope of success must have all
or nearly all new mich COWS, because
that rich favor, that delicious aroma
that wins all hearts, or rather tickles all
palates, exhibits in large measure in the
milk, cream and butter from new mich
COWS, and does not exhibit at all or but
feebly, in the butter made from shippers,
and such butter has been justly described
as neutral-neither good nor bad-and
does not stand the ghost of chance to
win prize in competition with other but
ter made from new milch cows, pre-sup-
posing that both have been well made.
Early cut hay, corn fodder, cornmeal,
bran and ground oats, and warm stable
in winter, are all very essential conditions.
Cold deep setting of the milk to raise
the cream is essential to uniformity. 1
do not say it is impossible to make good
butter from milk set in open pans. 1t is
not impossible at an agricultural fair to
hit nigger's head stuck through hole
in a blanket, but nine balls out of ten fail
to hit. In churning either sweet or sour
cream the churnipg should cease while
the butter is in granular form, when it
should be washed and sailed in the churn,
and then it may be taken on the worker,
and, positively, never allowed to become
very soft or very hard before re.working
and packing. Judges Of butter find it
essential to correct judgment, to Judge
from scale of points, with fifty as per-
lection, as was used at the dairy fair in
Milwaukee, as follows: Flavor, 20; quail
ity or grain, II; color, 6; sailing. 6; style
of packing, 3. Total, 80. i see no good
reason why scale of points may not be-
come as advantageous in the manufac
ture of butter as in judging of its quality,
from past experience and present knowl-
edge. L would suggest the following
scale with numbers according to their
relative Importance: New mich COWS, 90;
early cut hay, cornmeal and bran, TO-;
| deep setting, 10; washing and sailing in
granular form, 6; working and packing,
4. Total, so. Experience, skill and
| cleanliness do not create flavor, and the
most that can be done is not to DESTROY
the inherent flavor existing in the milk,
Good hay, cornmeal and bran DE- not
create flavor, but help to develop and fix
It's character. Wasting butter while in
the granular state does not create flavor,
OUT = effectually removes matter that
would destroy favor. The COW, in her
earlier milkings, is the great source and
| creator OF flavor, and the highest skill in
butter-making is to preserve, not to des-
troy flavor. 1t can be learned in a week.
Lit may not be learned in lifetime. One
TACT butter makers should keep in mind
that sweet, delicious flavor is what buy
ers are willing to pay for. Flavor in
butter, like flavor in maple syrup, deter
mines its character and fixes it's value. -