The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-10-12
JAIRr~no
OBEAMMESRN
BUTTER MAKING RULES.
Agricultural Department Tells How
to Handle and Ripen Cream.

to Handle and Ripen Cream.
In ripening the cream for churn-
ing starter is used, which IL moth
ing more than nicely soured milk,
which contains the bacteria which
cause the cream to sour The amount
OF starter to use will depend upon
different conditions. If one is churn-
ing every day, about one to one and
half gallons of starter In ten gal
Ions OF cream Is the right amount.
II 1t is necessary to hurry the pro-
cess any, more starter should be
used, and vice versa. The tempera-
ture at which the cream is set will
influence the amount Of starter to be
used. During the process of ripening
the cream should be stirred occasion
ally to obtain best results. Just what
is the result of stirring Is not en-
tirely understood, but it is known
that cream when frequently stirred
ripens with a more uniform and
finer flavor than cream which is rip
ened without stirring.
applied in measuring the ripening of
cream is the determination of the
acid present. The acid test, as it is
called, gives a fair idea of the quail
ity OF and stage of ripeness. There
is no step in the whole process of
making butter where the Judgment
of the maker is so much needed as
in ripening cream. He must cultivate
his taste for the desirable flavors
and must know when the point is
reached where further ripening must
be checked.
The butter fat exists in the cream
in minute globules, each independ-
ent of the others, and any agitation
tends to bring them together, the
force of the impact causing them to
adhere to each other, AS the agita-
tion is continued these small particles
of butter grow larger by addition
OF other particles until a stage is
reached where they become visible
to the eye, and if the churning is
continued long enough all will be
united in one lump of butter in the
churn.
The time that it takes to churn
depends largely on the temperature
of the cream at the beginning. If the
cream is quite warm the butter will
come quickly if it is too cold the
churning may have to be prolonged,
in some instances for hours, before
the butter granules will become
large enough to free themselves
from the buttermilk The tempera-
ture at the beginning should be
regulated accordingly. 1t is usually
considered that about thirty to
thirty-five minutes churning should
bring the butter With different sea-
sons of the year the temperatures
will have to be varied somewhat, in
order to have the butter come in this
length of time. 1t is necessary in hot
weather to churn at a temperature
as low as so to % degrees f., while
in the winter months, when the cows
are on dry feed and the weather is
cold, it is often necessary to raise
the churning temperature to 60 or
s. degrees F.
1t is important to know at just
what point to stop churning. For
best results in freeing the granules
from the buttermilk and incorporat-
Ing the salt 1t is considered that but
ter granules should be about the
size of beans or grains of corn, pos
sibly little larger. The churn is
then stopped and the buttermilk al
lowed to drain. After the butter
milk is we'll drained from the but
ter granules an amount of water
about equal in volume and of the
same temperature as buttermilk
should be added, and the churn Civ
en- four or five revolutions slowly, so
that the water will come in contact
with every particle of butter and
wash out the remaining buttermilk.
AS soon as the wash water has
drained well from the butter gran
ules salt should be added. The
amount of salt used will depend en-
tirely on the demands of the con-
sumner Usually about one ounce of
salt for each pound of butter will be
necessary. If the ordinary barrel
churn is used. which is perhaps the
best form made, giving the churn a
few revolutions the salt will be quite
thoroughly incorporated with the
butter. 1t should stand in this con-
dition for a few minutes, until the
salt becomes more or less dissolved,
before the working of the butter is
begun.
If the salt and butter have been
mixed in the churn the butter can
be placed on the working table and
the working begun at once. The
working should be continued until it
assumes a waxy condition. If the
work is continued too long the but
ter will become salvy, having the
appearance of lard, and will lose its
granular appearance, structure be-
coming weak bodied. The firmness
of the butter must be taken into ac-
count in determining how the butter
should be worked. Usually the firmer
the butter the more working 1t will
stand and the more time 1t will need
to thoroughly incorporate the salt
and bring out the waxy condition"
GOOD ROAD PROJECT.