Both methods, no doubt, have their advantages. In the same circ.u.mstances, the washed b.u.t.ter may be more easily preserved in the fresh state, while the unwashed b.u.t.ter will probably possess a higher flavor.

Sweet Cream

May be put into the churn and the b.u.t.ter be obtained, but in most cases it requires more labor and longer time, without, in the opinion of good judges, affording in general a finer quality of b.u.t.ter. In all cases the cream becomes sour during the agitation, and before the b.u.t.ter begins distinctly to form.

Clouted Cream

The churning of the clouted cream of this and other countries, forms an exception to the general rule just stated, that more time is required in the churning of sweet creams. Clouted cream may be churned in the morning after it is made, that is, within twenty-four hours of the time when the milk was taken from the cow; and from such cream it is well known that the b.u.t.ter separates with very great ease. But in this case, the heating of the cream has already disposed the oily matter to cohere, an incipient running together of the globules has probably taken place before the cream is removed from the milk, and hence the comparative ease with which the churning is effected. There is something peculiar in b.u.t.ter prepared in this way, as it is known in other countries by the name of Bohemian b.u.t.ter. It is said to be very agreeable in flavor, but it must contain more cheesy matter than the b.u.t.ter from ordinary cream.

Churning the whole Milk

Is a much more laborious method, from the difficulty of keeping in motion such large quant.i.ties of fluid. It has the advantage, however, of giving a larger quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter. At Rennes, in Brittany, the milk of the previous evening is poured _into the churn_ along with the warm morning's milk, and the mixture is allowed to stand for some hours, when the whole is churned. In this way it is said that a larger quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter is obtained, and of a more delicate flavor.

In the neighborhood of Glasgow, according to Mr. Aiton, the milk is allowed to stand six, twelve, or twenty-four hours in the dairy, till the whole has cooled, and the cream has risen to the surface. Two or three milkings, still sweet, are then poured together with their cream, into a large vessel, and are left undisturbed till the whole has become quite sour, and is completely coagulated. The proper sourness is indicated by the formation of a stiff _brat_ upon the surface _which has become uneven_. Great care must be taken to keep the brat and curd unbroken until the milk is about to be churned, for if any of the whey be separated, the air gains admission to it and to the curd, and fermentation is induced. By this fermentation, the quality of the b.u.t.ter may or may not be affected, but that of the b.u.t.termilk is almost sure to be injured.

In Holland the practice is a little different. The cream is not allowed to rise to the surface at all, but the milk is stirred two or three times a day, till it gets sour, and so thick that a wooden spoon will stand in it. It is then put into the churn, and the working, or the separation of the b.u.t.ter is a.s.sisted by the addition of a quant.i.ty of cold water. By churning the sour milk in one or other of these ways, the b.u.t.ter is said to be "rich, sound, and well-flavored." If it be greater in quant.i.ty, it is, according to Sprengel, because the fatty matter carries with it from the milk a larger quant.i.ty of casein than it does in most cases from the cream alone.

Sourness of the Cream.

For the production of the best b.u.t.ter, it is necessary that the cream should be sufficiently sour before it is put into the churn. b.u.t.ter made from sweet cream (not clouted) is neither good in quality, nor large in quant.i.ty, and longer time is required in churning. It is an unprofitable method.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 18.]

Fig. 18 is a _Cylindrical Thermometer Churn_, of any required size, with false metal bottom to hold cold or hot water for bringing the cream to the proper temperature. A thermometer, permanently set in the side, indicates the heat.

Quickness in Churning.

The more quickly milk or cream is churned, the paler, the softer, and the less rich the b.u.t.ter. Cream, according to Mr. Aiton, may be safely churned in an hour and a half, while milk ought to obtain from two to three hours. The churning ought always to be regular, slower in warm weather, that the b.u.t.ter may not be soft and white, and quicker in winter, that the proper temperature may be kept up.

A barrel-churn, lately introduced into this country, being placed in a trough of water of the proper temperature, readily imparts the degree of heat required by the milk or cream without the necessity of adding warm water to the milk, _and churns the whole in ten or twelve minutes_. It is said also to give a larger weight of b.u.t.ter from the same quant.i.ty of milk. If the quality be really as good by this quick churning, the alleged inferiority in the quality of b.u.t.ter churned quickly in the common churn cannot be due to the mere rapidity of churning alone.

Over-churning.

When the process of churning is continued after the full separation of the b.u.t.ter, it loses its fine yellowish, waxy appearance, and becomes soft and light-colored. The weight of the b.u.t.ter, however, is considerably increased; and hence, in Lancashire, over-churning is frequently practised in the manufacture of fresh b.u.t.ter for immediate sale.

Temperature of the Milk or Cream.

Much also depends upon the temperature of the milk or cream when the churning is commenced. Cream when put into the churn should never be warmer than 55 Fahrenheit It rises during the churning from 4 to 10 F. above its original temperature. When the whole milk is churned, the temperature should be raised to 65 F., which is best done by pouring in hot water into the churn _while the milk is kept in motion_. In winter, either of these temperatures may be easily attained. In cold weather it is often necessary to add hot water to the cream to raise it even to 55. But in summer, and especially in hot weather, it is difficult, even in cool and well-ordered dairies, (without the use of ice,) to keep the cream down to this comparatively low temperature. Hence, if the cream be then churned, a second-rate b.u.t.ter, at best, is all that can be obtained.

The alleged advantages of Churning the entire Milk.

The proper temperature can be readily obtained both in winter and summer. A hundred gallons of entire milk, will give, in summer, five per cent. more b.u.t.ter than the cream from the same quant.i.ty of milk. b.u.t.ter of the best quality can be obtained without difficulty, both in winter and summer. No special attention to circ.u.mstances, or change of method, is at any time required. The churning in winter and summer is alike simple and easy. The b.u.t.ter is not only of the best quality while fresh, but is also best for long-keeping, when properly cured or salted.

Cleanliness in all the operations of the Dairy.

This is peculiarly necessary to the manufacture of good b.u.t.ter. Cream is remarkable for the rapidity with which it absorbs and becomes tainted by any unpleasant odors. It is very necessary that the air of the dairy should be sweet, that it should be often renewed, and that it should be open in no direction from which bad odors can come. (_Johnston and other authorities._)

The statement of J. T. Lansing, who received the first premium for b.u.t.ter from the New York State Agricultural Society, is as follows:--

_Keep the cows stabled through the inclement season_; feed them from three to four times per day with good hay or green stalks; when near coming in, add some oats, barley, or corn cracked. In summer, good pasture, with living water accessible at all times, and plenty of salt.

_Treatment of milk and cream before churning._--Strain the milk in tin pans; place them in a cool cellar for the cream to rise. When sufficiently risen, separate the cream from the milk; put in stone jars, well prepared before churning.

_The mode of churning in summer._--Rinse the churn with cold water; then turn in the cream, and add to each jar of cream put in the churn, full one-fourth of the same quant.i.ty of cold water. The churn used is a patent one, moved by hand with a crank, having paddles attached, and so constructed as to warm the milk (if too cold) with hot water, without mixing them together. The milk and cream receive the same treatment in winter as in summer; and in churning, use hot instead of cold water, if necessary.

_The method of freeing the b.u.t.ter from the milk_, is to wash the b.u.t.ter with cold water, till it shows no color of the milk, by the use of a ladle.

_Salting the b.u.t.ter._--Use the best kind of Liverpool sack-salt; the quant.i.ty varies according to the state in which the b.u.t.ter is taken from the churn; if soft, more; if hard, less; always taking the taste for the surest guide. Add no saltpetre, nor other substances.

_The best time for churning_ is the morning, in hot weather, and to keep the b.u.t.ter cool till put down.

_The best mode of preserving b.u.t.ter_, in and through the summer and winter, is as follows:--The vessel is a stone jar, clean and sweet. The mode of putting it down is to put in a churning of b.u.t.ter, and put on strong brine; let it remain on until the next churning is ready to put down, and so on till the jar is filled; then cover it with fine salt the same to remain on till used.

Mr. McWilliams, of Orange county, the celebrity of whose b.u.t.ter is unsurpa.s.sed, thus details his method of b.u.t.ter-making:

"Our practice is not to churn the milk until it becomes thick or loppered, the milk and cream is then churned together. The temperature of the milk is about fifty degrees. In warm weather about a quart of cold water is put in each pan before the milk is strained, so as to keep it sweet as long as possible. The cellar-floor is brick. This in warm weather is daily cleansed with cold water. A drain from the cellar carries off the water thus applied. The churn is filled about half full with milk, with the addition of two pails of cold water before starting the churn. In cold weather the same quant.i.ty of warm water is applied.

When the churning is finished, which usually occupies about two hours of time, there are then two more pails of cold water applied to raise the b.u.t.ter and cool it.

The b.u.t.ter is then taken out of the churn and put in a large tray; this is immediately filled with cold water, and the b.u.t.ter carefully washed; after which the water is thrown off. The b.u.t.ter now undergoes the process of salting; it is then placed in a cool situation, where it stands about an hour, and is worked carefully over. This finished, it is placed in the same situation as before, where it stands three or four hours, and is again worked over; again replaced for five or six hours, when it is worked over for the third time. It is now replaced, where it stands till the next morning, and worked over for the fourth time. A small quant.i.ty of nitre is then put in the b.u.t.ter. Thus finished, it is placed in firkins holding about eighty-five pounds.

Previous to packing, the firkin is scalded with hot water, rinsed and cooled with cold water, then rubbed all around with fine salt; this prevents the b.u.t.ter from adhering to the sides of the firkin. When the firkin is full, a linen cloth is placed over the top of the b.u.t.ter; on this cloth a covering of salt is put one inch deep, and cold water enough added to it to form a brine. It then stands till it is to be sent to market, when the cloth and salt are removed, the firkin turned down, the top of the b.u.t.ter in the keg washed with cold water, and the pickle drained off. The firkin is now neatly headed up and sent to market."

The salt added to the b.u.t.ter should be from 1-24th to 1-28th of its weight, or about two-thirds of an ounce to a pound, and this must be of the best quality. All the b.u.t.termilk must be thoroughly extracted by repeated washings; and when completed, the b.u.t.ter should be immediately packed, and not a particle of air allowed to come in contact with it till opened for the table.

CHEESE.

The Circ.u.mstances affecting the Quality of Cheese.

"All cheese consists essentially of the curd, mixed with a certain portion of the fatty matter, and of the sugar of milk. But differences in the quality of the milk, in the proportion in which the several const.i.tuents of milk are mixed together, or in the general mode of dairy management, give rise to varieties of cheese almost without number.

Nearly every dairy district produces one or more qualities of cheese peculiar to itself.

Natural Differences in the Milk

It is obvious that whatever gives rise to natural differences in the quality of the milk, must affect also that of the cheese prepared from it. If the milk be poor in b.u.t.ter, so must the cheese be. If the pasture be such as to give a milk rich in cream, the cheese will partake of the same quality. If the herbage or other food affect the taste of the milk or cream, it will also modify the flavor of the cheese.

Milk of Different Animals.