The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-10-31
PACKING GUTTER.
Stained 1t will Keep a Year Prepared
rs below nesoriheh.

The first requisite is good butter In
decd it must be perfect in character and
completely without fault. 1t alust be
made from the best grass, helped by tho
cleanest, sweetest cornmcal. 1t is an
attribute of good grass that it oommuni-
Gates its sweetness to the butter and
this is because the odor of grass of the
best kind exists, as tho odor of other
fragrant herbs does, in the oil contained
in it, And, as has been said and insisted
upon here so often and persistently, in
spite of opposition, it is the oils in the
food that go to make the butter and
give it its best tiavors, so that only the
very best of food can produce the very
best butter
The kind of package used in tho dairy
is quite as important as anything be-
sides. 1t must be alright and Of such
material as will hold the moisture and
exclude air. Air and water together will
spoil anything, because these are the
worst agents of decomposition. And for
this reason the air must be kept from
the butter, and there must be no water
in it that is not saturated with salt, and
this of the best and purest kind and
finely ground, so that it will not permit
any decomposition to go ON in the pack
age OF all the materials used for the
packages the best white oak is tho most
to be preferred. And the pals thus
made, perfectly fitted together and hav-
ing alright fitting covers and of oak
l,.,1r -, 4, 81.
and vanished outside, should be selected
for this use. 1t is quite possible to pack
the finest buster in such a package and
keep it a whole year without deteriora.
ton. And if kept no moro than six
months the butter may easily be better
than when it was packed, because it
will have become ripened and acquired
that delicate aromatic odor and flavor
which well ripened fruit will 90 when
kept as it should be, but which has not
developed while ON the tree
The packages are selected with care
and are free from knots or decayed
spots, perfectly sound aud uncontami-
mated by any impure matter. They have
been kept in clean, we'll ventilated
apartments, free from dust or damp
that might cause mold. When used.
they are first soaked with pure water
for few hours and then filled with
brine until the salt has saturated the
whole wood. This soaking takes off the
woody flavor and kills any germs of de-
cay that might have been on the wood
The butter, then all ready, is packed in
the pail still wet with the brine If the
dairy is large enough to make whole
pail-50 pounds-at once, it is filled at
one churrning, but this is only possible
where there are 90 COWS and the churn-
ing is done twice week In smaller
diaries the pail is partly packed, and
the butter is pressed down solidly to ex-
clude any excess of moisture and is then
covered with fresh made brine. The
pail is then covered with clean towel,
and the cover is loosely put on, and it
is set away in the dairy.
The next churning is then added to
it, first sprinkling on the last packed
butter little finely ground pure salt.
The butter is pressed down as before,
and if the pail is not filled it is treated
as before, using only fresh brine to COW
er it. This is repeated until the pail is
filled solidly up to within half an inch
of the top, and the butter is pressed
down with the clean maple wood presser
quite evenly. A new cloth, closely WOW
en- (the best quality of new shifting
goods is the best, is then laid on the
top and is cut all around on the outside
of the pail, but first il should have been
washed III boiling water, but no soap
and then stepped i'll brine, and finally it
is covered with the same kind of salt
no cheap, coarse kind but the best
quality finely ground-and the edge is
turned over on the salt The top is
smoothed even with the edge of the pail.
In this way there is no shrinkage of the
butter, and this is very important, for
if any vacancy occurs in the pail it will
fill with air in spite of all we may do,
and this air must not enter
This is the reason why the butter is
pressed down solidly and all the mois-
ture taken out of it and drained off.
The salt is then covered with parchment
paper to the outer edge of the pail. Then
the cover, having been well scrubbed
with pure water and then with brine, is
put on and pressed down firmly, so as
to squeeze the salt hard together. 1t is
then secured with clasps and the outside
wiped clean with a damp cloth. 1t is
then taken at once to the storehouse or
cellar, where it remains until it is to be
shipped.
1t is obvious that after all this care
the place where the butter is stored
should be dry and clean and quite free
from mold and as cool as may be posi-
BILE. A basement cellar under the milk
house is the best place for keeping the
butter. Then as the wine or the cider
maker keeps his product for the purpose
of ripening it and securing the fine
flavor due to age and internal change,
without the slightest exposure to the
air, which would certainly spoil it, so
the butter maker keeps his butter, and
in the course of the weeks or months it
remains i'll store it is undergoing that
ripening by which the flavor is develop
ed, and when it is sent to the purchaser
and is opened then we may experience