Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-08-30
BOK DD Make BUTTER.
Professor Mckay, Of Amss. Tells
Of Methods In the Old
Country.
The Danes Make the Finest BUT
ter Found in European
Countries.
Something About the Processes
Used and the Quality Of
the Product.
special to Times-Republican.

the PRODUCT.
Special to Times-Republican.
Ames, Aug. 3O.-Prof. G. e. Mckay
has just returned from trip thru Eu-
rope at the solicitation of the depart-
ment of agriculture at Washing
ton. He left Ames about three
months ago and visited Hol-
land, Belgium, Denmark and Ger
many. He was sent for the purpose
of making observations in regard to
the different methods employed in the
manufacture of cheese and butter in
the making of which these countries
excel. His observations will be pub
lished in a bulletin to be issued to the
department. Theodore Gravert, Ger
man, now residing in Germany and a
graduate of the dairy department of
Ames, accompanied Prof. Mckay as an
interpreter thru Holland. Belgium and
Germany.
Prof. Mckay says: mo subject in
terested me more than water. tested
a lot of butter in England for moisture
and the driest butter found was from
New Zealand, some of it running down
to about eight per cent. Russia was
very irregular-some very fine, but a
good deal of it had rank flavor. 1t
will get over that after a while, how
eyer, and believe that Russia will
come to the front rapidly. Some of the
highest selling butter was the French
two pound unsalted rolls. My exper-
fence with the Irish butter is that it
lacks body, which results largely from
the fact that it is churned at high
temperature. 1t contains lots of water,
some samples testing 20 to % per cent
moisture. This question is now be-
fore the English parliament and it
seems probable that it will be settled
on the basis of about Is or 16 per cent
water.
st has been great problem to me
that the Danish butter has higher
percentage of water than ours has, yet
at the same time it has mealy, dry
appearance. Investigation showed
that their method of churning and
working was peculiar. The Cummings
done at a moderately high temperature
and the butter comes soft. 1t is drop
| ped at once into cold water and then
put on the table and worked three
quarters of minute, after which it is
again put on cold water for moment
then brought back and worked one to
one and quarter minutes. When fin
ished it is packed into kegs for the
market. 1t is said that this method is
FUSED to get to get the buttermilk out
and to have it clear but 1t is probably
intended to work the water into the
butter as we'll. The Danish butter will
\ average five per cent more water than
ours, and yet does not show it. My
! discoveries in this line will be followed
| by experiments in our creamery at
Ames.
zone reason why the Danes turn out
such uniformly fine butter is that they
pasteurize alomst entirely. In that
country they have number of in
spectors who go around to the dairies
4 and creameries and see that things are
all right. When the butter is found to
be faulty the buttermaker is told to
change his starter. The buttermakers
work by rule and can rarely give a
reason for what they do. In this they
contrast strongly with our buttermak-
ers. think on general principles that
the American buttermakers are better
than the Danish. The point / want to
| make is that II Dane is asked for an
explanation as to why he did this thing
OF that, he can't tell you. Put the
same question to our buttermakers and
they know why everything is done and
what will result from their work.
Il was told by the proprietor of a
hotel in London that the best butter
they were getting came from Halle
wood creamery. of Sioux City, Ia, and
was made by Mortenson."
Prof. Mckay says that the fight
should now be made on the milk sup
I ply. In the past the greatest efforts
/ have been made in the direction of
educating the buttermakers and teach
ing them how to make the best grade
of butter out of the material at hand.
Now the patrons must be taught more
fully the Importance of better care of
the milk, and until the standard of
milk supply is raised it will be difficult
to improve the quality of the butter. ]
The professor visited Holland and
sought to find out the secrets con-
nected with the making of fancy
cheeses. He was more than pleased
with the results of his investigation of
the subject and promises to tell about
it fully in a special bulletin in the near
future.
4