CHAPTER IX.
MILK PRODUCTS
Every milk producer should make some study of the principal products that are made from milk, for such information may help to market it to a better advantage.
Butter. The law requires that butter contain 80% butter-fat and that it shall contain less than 16% moisture. In 100 pounds of creamery butter there is usually about 3 pounds of salt, 1 pound of casein and between 15 and 16 pounds of water.
Figuring that butter contains 80% fat for the minimum which allows for the maximum amount of water, the following amount may be obtained from 100 pounds of milk:
100 lbs. of 3% milk will produce 3³⁄₄ lbs. of butter.
100 lbs. of 4% milk will produce 5 lbs. of butter.
100 lbs. of 5% milk will produce 6¹⁄₄ lbs. of butter.
Cheese. It usually takes about 10 pounds of 4% milk to make 1 pound of cheddar cheese, which is the common cheese usually sold at the stores. This cheese will test out about 36.8% fat, 25.5% protein, 6% sugar, ash, etc., and 31.7% water.
Cottage Cheese. Cottage cheese is usually made from skim milk. 100 pounds of average skim milk will make from 12 to 15 pounds of cottage cheese, such as is usually sold on the city market. Where it is creamed the cream is put in after the cheese is made.
Cream. 100 pounds of 4% milk will produce: 20 pounds of 20% cream and 80 pounds of skim remaining, 13¹⁄₃ pounds of 30% cream and 86²⁄₃ lbs. of skim remaining, or 10 pounds of 40% cream and 90 pounds of skim remaining.
The average cream sold tests about 30% butter-fat, so on the average the farmer has left about 86 pounds or a ten-gallon can of skim milk for every 100 pounds of 4% milk.
Skim Milk. The value of skim milk on the farm as feed is an important one for the farmer. The price of whole milk in the city is not always high enough so that it pays the farmer to sell his skim rather than to use it for feeding. During the flush season in the spring when milk dealers are all burdened with a surplus of milk, it would be a great advantage if more farmers would separate and feed the skim milk to hogs. I will endeavor to give here as accurately as possible what real information I can gather from Experiment Station reports concerning the feeding value of skim milk. At the outset it might be well to state that on this question I have never known any two agricultural experts to agree and experiments need to be carefully analyzed before they yield true information.