“I would mention that it is essential, in making a fine article, to keep the cream clear of milk. The next operation will he preparatory to churning, by straining the cream, and reducing the temperature of the churn by the use of the cold spring-water. The operation of churning should neither be protracted nor hastened too much. After the butter has made its appearance of the size of a small pea, draw off the milk, and throw in a small amount of cold water, and gather it. After the butter has been taken from the churn, it is placed upon the table, worked over by the lever, and salted; then worked again with the lever, in connection with the sponge and cloth, a pan of cold water being at hand, with a piece of ice in it in summer, into which you throw the cloth and sponge frequently, and wring out dry before again using it. These, as well as every other article which will come into contact with the butter, must be scalded, and afterward, as well as the hands, placed in cold water. I would here add that the use of the sponge is one of the important points in making butter to keep well; for by it you can remove almost every particle of butter-milk, which is the great agent in the destruction of its sweetness and solidity. For the winter dairy a room in which is placed a stove should be provided, which can be made warm, and also well ventilated. I prefer the use of coal, on account of keeping the fire through the night. My dairy-room is adjoining the spring-house, and connects with it, which I consider important. This room should be used for no other purpose, as cream and butter are the greatest absorbents of effluvia with which I am acquainted. I have known good butter to be spoiled by being placed over night in a close closet.
“The thermometer should always accompany the winter dairy. There is one thing very important in the winter dairy, which, perhaps, I should have placed first, and that is the food of the cows; for, without something else than hay, you will not make very fine butter. Mill-feed and corn-meal I consider about the best for yield and quality, although there are many other articles of food which will be useful, and contribute to the appetite and health of the cattle.
“The process for the winter dairy is similar to that of the summer, with the exception of the regulation as to the temperature of room, etc., which is as follows:
“Particular care should be taken not to let the milk get cold before placing it in the dairy-room; for, should it be completely chilled, the cream will not rise well. Add about a gill of warm water to the sour milk for each pan, before straining into it, which will greatly facilitate the rising of the cream. Keep the temperature of the room as near fifty-eight degrees, Fahrenheit, as possible, and guard against the air being dry by having a small vessel of water upon the stove, or else a dry coat will form on the surface of the cream. The cream should be kept in a colder place than the dairy-room until the night before churning, when it might be placed in the warm room, so that its temperature shall be about 58°.
“The churn may be prepared by scalding it, and then reduced to the same temperature as the cream by cold water, using the thermometer as a test.
“This regulation of temperature is of the greatest importance: for, should it be too low, you will be a long time churning, and have poor, tasteless butter; if too high, the butter will be soft and white.”
What is especially noticeable in the above statement is the use of the sponge, and the thorough and complete removal of all the butter-milk. Here is probably the secret of success, after all. I have given the statement in full, notwithstanding its length, on account of the well-known excellence of the butter produced by the process, as well as for the suggestions with regard to the dairy-rooms, and not because I can recommend all its details for the imitation of others. The use of sour milk in the pans is based, I suppose, on the idea that the cream does not begin to rise till acidity commences in the milk,—an idea which was once pretty generally entertained; but the process of souring undoubtedly commences, though imperceptible to the senses, very soon after the milk comes to rest in the pan. At any rate, there is no doubt that the separation of the butter from the other substances commences at once, and without the addition of any foreign substance to the milk.
Nor do I believe there is any necessity for the milk to stand over twenty-four hours in any case; for I have no doubt that all the best of the cream rises within the first twelve hours, under favorable circumstances, and I am inclined to think that whatever is added to the quantity of cream after twenty-four hours, detracts from the quality of the butter to an extent which more than counterbalances the whole of the quantity.
Many good dairy-women make an exceedingly fine article, in spite of the defects of some parts of the process of manufacture. This does not show that they would not make still better butter if they remedied these defects.
The more we can retard the development of acidity in the milk, within certain limits, the more cream may we expect to get; and hence some use artificial means for this purpose, mixing in the milk a little crystallized soda, dissolved in twice its volume of water, which corrects the acidity as soon as it forms. It is a perfectly harmless addition, and increases the product of the butter, and improves its quality. But under ordinarily favorable circumstances, from twelve to eighteen hours will be sufficient to raise all the cream in summer, and from twenty to thirty hours in winter.