Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1896-03-06
MARKETABLE BUTTER.

Messrs. Grist Cousins Give Some Valuable
Information ON the Subject.
EDIToR OF The ENQUIRER: With
your permission, we will furnish some
information to the subscribers and readers
of THE ENQUIRER in which many Of
them are interested. Our subject is butter,
its preparation for market in such a way
as to command the highest price, grade
considered.
We will preface our remarks with the
statement that since we have been in busi-
ness we have been very much perplexed as
to how to handle this very important and
necessary commodity with satisfaction to
those who had it to sell, (by paying them
q reasonable price for it) and a profit to
ourselves. We well knew that we could
only handle very limited quantity If we
d epended on the local demand as
means of disposing Of it, for the reason
that probably three-fourths Of the families
in Yorkvilles either have the "home-
raised" article or engagements with
nearby farmers to supply their needs.
To dispose Of the surplus was and is
where the trouble comes in. We tried
shipping it to Charleston. produce
dealer, and received for the first lot sent
him "a cents a pound less than cost. He
said the grade was poor, and that the
king was worse. We tried again, with
no better results, and then we went to
work to investigate and have concluded
that both the butter-makers and our
selves are, in large measure, respon-
sible for the failure to secure satis-
factory results. They, because the but
ter was not up to requirements, and
we, because it was not packed properly
and shipped to the right dealer. We
now know how it should be packed, and
we propose to try in this article to tell
how it should be made.
First, the milk should never be churn-
ed-only the cream. Skim the milk care
fully-the mornings milk in the evening
and the evenings milk in the morning,
and while it is undergoing the ripening
process be sure that it does not become
scalded- -scalded butter is not worth more
than cents on market where it is to be
sold on its merits.
When the cream is being churned use
as little warm water as possible. After
the churning take the butter off and wash
it in cold water, putting it through two or
three courses, or until the water runs of
clear and you are sure that not a particle
of milk has been left in the butter,
because if any milk is left, it will spoil
the butter inside Of three days. Next,
work all the water out. Next, comes the
sailing process, and if you have complied
with all the other conditions. you may
fail here. First, take your salt and pull
verize it as fine as possible, by rolling 1t
with rolling pin-the finer the better
and add one ounce OF salt to IL ounces OF
butter. After you have added the salt
the two will weigh one pound. Now for
the closing instructions: Make it into
l6-ounce packages-not l5 or l7-and use
q mould. DO not, under any circum-
stances. put more than one pound OF
butter in a cake intended for market.
Do not use any coloring matter OF any
kind. It does not increase the market
value of your product and is liable to
injure the consumer. II your cow makes
yellow butter you are to be congratulated
but if she makes white, let it remain
white. Cow peas, wheat bran, peameal
and vines, fodder and shucks make the
best butter; but if you have no peamesl
or peas use bran and cotton seed but use
the latter as sparingly as possible, es-
pecially during cool weather, as they inn
part to the butter that property which
causes it to stick to the roof Of the mouth;
81 says the professor in charge Of the
dairy department at Clemson college, and
he ought to know.
In conclusion we will say that if the
foregoing instructions are carried out, and
we don't see why they they can't be, there
will be wonderful improvement in the
quality Of butter offered for sale in York
County, and we are persuaded that every
surplus pound can be handled by the
merchants at much better price than
they have been heretofore accustomed to
pay. GR1sT COUSINS.
Yorkville, s. c., March 4, 1895.