The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-06-19
Butter-Making in the d" Wild,
ROwdy West"

Among the many questions asked me
In butter-making none is more frequent
than this: " How do you granuate and
brine-salt butter?" Assuming that the
butter is about ready to come-that is,
just before the granules appear add
to the churning about two quarts of
quite strong brine at sixty degrees, and
then continue the churning until there
is clear separation of the butter-milk,
the butter in the bird-shot stage. 1t is
the most important point to get it just
right. The brine has caused wonder
full {" clean separation, and the next
thing is to obtain as clean a division of
fluid and fats as possible. One great
cause of failure here is in attempting
to draw off the butter-milk, and not
make a " bother " of it, and also avoid
sleeves, strainers, skimmers, etc. Do
not attempt to draw off the butter
milk until at least four gallons of water
have been added to the mass and it has
been given three or four whirls, and
then allow it to stand for three or
four minutes. This, with the salt
brine already in, makes the butter-milk
very fluid, cuts the sugar and cheese,
adds to their gravity and sends them
down and the fats up, and pretty effec-
tually destroys the " viscosity " of the
milk. The fats will come to the sur
face perfectly, and the mass of fluid
can be drawn out from beneath the
butter without any sleeves, provided
the plug is reinserted just as the
butter line gets near the orifce. Then
wash again, and third time, and let
this last drain out until it only drips.
! Spread the butter evenly over the bot
tom of the churn, and if the washing
has been done with very little agitation
the butter grains will be like golden
sand " Ga new phrase). Make brine
as strong as water will dissolve salt at
sixty-five degrees, and just enough to
cover the butter, not float it. Stir this
gently with four-tined wooden fork
| (throw away the paddle and ladle)-
and then draw out the most of this
brine and dissolve more salt in it, and
turn it back into the churn. The but
ter when first brined had about thirty
per cent, by weight, of water, and this
weakened the brine by so much. The
reinforcing of the brine brings it up
TO full standard strength By brining
at sixty-fve degrees the butter, which
! Ndo CullIcu ny washing W MY -INC uc-
grees or below, is again brought back to
sixty degrees, which is the right point
to pack it. The butter is now gathered
in this last brine into two or three
Jumps by a gentle revolving of the
churn. The butter is now ready to
pack. 1t can not possibly be streaked
it is sailed as high as can be done with
dissolved salt, and it is ready to pack.
So take it out of the churn, about a
pound and half at time, and put it
into the fancy pals, crowding it down
| firmly and absorbing the brine that will
exude with cloth. Then add another
layer, and so on until the pail is full.
The first drawing of butter-milk, if
needed for family use, can be allowed
to set in a crock or can for an hour or
two, when the top third of the fluid is
turned off, leaving the butter-milk in
the bottom. If for pigs, the dilution,
or salt, does no harm, as it simply
makes more drink, and they need the
salt, only do not feed it alone. Add it
to the days swill and the usual amount
of grain. AS seen by this, butter
making is one continuous process-dis.
cards the butter-bowl, worker, sweat
box and ladle, and gives uniform re-
suit that can do no violence to the
grain or texture of the butter. The
last brine can be saved to use in the
brine-washing of the next churning,
and only needs new salt to make the
sailing brine. BY this process the work
of butter-making is wholly mechanical,
and if the thermometer is used at each
stage one can not go astray. 1t is
simply putting the simple action of salt
against time and labor as practiced by
the older methods. JOHN GOULD.
Portage County, Ohio, June 3.