Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1912-02-09
LOCAL MARKETS
HOW TO MAKE
GOOD BUTTER

Washington State College, Pull
man.-To make good butter we must
begin with the making of the cream.
Any condition that tends to make
good. wholesome milk and cream.
says A. b. Nystrom, assistant profess
ser of dairying, will also make the
best butter. Cream for butter making
should have clean, acid flavor; that
is, sour; and should be of such con-
sistency as will allow the butter to
come in about IS minutes. In making
butter on the farm we must take into
consideration the outside tempera-
ture and the feed that the COW is get
ting before determining the churning
temperature. While in the summer
time 1t may be necessary to churn ut
as low as So degrees, in the winter
time 1t may be necessary to churn at
as high as 81. This is due largely to
the fact that the cream has been kept
at low temperature previous to
churning, and the granules have been
more or less hardened; also to the
fact that in the winter time the COW
gets very little succulent feed and
there is a larger proportion of hard
fats present in the butter. If milk or
cream is kept cold for any length Of
time there is danger Of an undesirable
fermentation taking place. This is
noticed especially in the winter time
when milk turns bitter or gets Shiny
before it sours. 1t is impossible to
get good butter from cream that has
these abnormal lamentations devel-
oped in it.
To remedy this difficulty keep the
cream warm; that is, at a tempera-
ture Of about 20 degrees. so rs to en-
courage the growth of the Tactic acid
germ which causes the right kind Of
acidity to develop. When cream is
ready for churning it has a glossy ap-
pearance and is very thick. About 30
to IS per cent OF fat is the best. If the
cream Is much lower in fat content
there is larger loss in the butter
milk and there is more difficulty in
gcCClng the butter.
1t is very important to stop churn-
ing when the granules are very small,
about the size of wheat kernels. U.s.
uallv, when butter is made on the
farm, it is churned until it is in large
Jumps about the size of hens eggs.
When this happens a large amount of
the buttermilk is incorporated into
the butter and upon standing, this de-
cOmpOses and causes the bad tiavOrs
so often noticed in ranch butter. AS
soon as the granules are the right
size, the buttermilk is drained off and
cold water, about the temperature of
the buttermilk, is added to wash out
what buttermilk may he mixed with
the granules. Washing it twice or
three times is necessary. The water
draining from the granules should be
almost clear before the butter is ready
to salt. II the granules are small, the
salt can be worked in evenly and east
w. IT they are large, it will take
large amount Of working, and there is
danger Of having greasy butter.
The exact amount OF working to
give butter is hard to determine, but
we should remember that the only
reason for working butter is to dis
tribute the salt evenly. This is us
ually noticed by the absence of holes
when part of it is cut with the pad
die. The finished product may be
packed in any style of package that
is attractive, especially if. it is to 60
OH the market.