The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-01-02
Butter VI aking.

Laughing at the idea of a plain, prac-
tical farmwife writing an essay on
butter making, when so many learned
men have labored hard and diligently
in years past to establish by scientific eX-
periments the theory of butter glObules,
too frail to be eaten, | will not dub this
production an essay, but bit of eXpe-
rience-or a medley, if you chOose-in
which | can only relate my own trials
Far back in my girlhood days ! remem-
Der, with a sort of terror, the huge stack
of milk-pans piled in the old sink every
morning to be washed in two waters,
scalded in three, then carefully dried:
and the old dash-churn, a tall, clumsy af-
fair, the dash pointing the inevitable way
Of making butter Shy the sweat of the
brow" since often the entire weight of
one person was required 30 hold down
the churn, while another laboriOusly
forced the dash up and down through
the thickened mass of cream. With
arms barred to the shoulder, the golden
pats of butter were taken up CHE drip
ping buttermilk pressed Out, laid in the
large wooden bowl to be sailed and car
ried to the cool cellar, from whence it was
brought mex. day for the finishing labors.
Later came the Blanchard churn, with
crank and floats, and long wooden
tray, in which we would knead the but
ter very much as one kneads bread,
carefully soaking up all moisture with
cloth-a drop of brine being considered
great offence. But after awhile
customers complained that the butter
was worked too much" the grain was
broken" SO we have gradually come to
handling as little as possibe-rarely, if
ever, touching the butter with the
hands. From the fact that salable.
butter can be made without the costly
new contrivances, / have never gone
beyond Sanborn churn and small
square pans (washing, sailing and work
ing being done in the churn), hen
stamping or packing direct from it,
when the butter is of the right temper
allure, using a butter-worker in very
warm or cold weather. 1t has not been
so very long since every newspaper and
every agricultural work teemed with
articles on daitying, in which cleanl-
ness seemed the only thing necessary
In making gilt-edged butter. One
might have thought that the whole
thrOng Of butter-makers had been using
dirt and flies as necessary ingredient
in their butter. Every farmers wife
grew indignant, and after examining
her own shining milk-pans, looked slyly
toward her neighbors', and finally con-
Guided that the newspaper men must
have meant some one else Let me
say here that, as far as my observation
extends, whatever else may be left un-
done, have found the milk the first
care among thrifty dairy-women, Why
should this not be so, since in many Of
our homes the dairy is the chief source
Of income? Streaked or brindle butter
is the result of unevenly distributed
salt, and can be avoided by washing in
weak brine and remedied by working
the second time. White specks are
caused by strong current of air pass
ing over the surface of the milk, drying
the cream, or by too much scalding of
milk. One year l practiced scalding
the milk before setting away, and made
more butter in that year than any year
since from the same number of cows,
but not enough to induce me to try it
again. Regularity in skimming and
churning prevents bitter cream. AS