Home labor saving devices

by Rhea C. Scott

When there are at least four cows milked, a small cream separator will be a good investment. Where a separator cannot be had, hand skimming is advisable if the cream is properly handled.

Ripening of Cream.—The ripening of milk or cream is the natural souring which takes place under proper conditions and which gives butter its characteristic flavor. The quality of butter depends, to a large extent, upon proper ripening. Where hand skimming is practised, set separate milkings in cool, well-ventilated places and allow to stand from twelve to eighteen hours for the cream to rise. Skim the cream off with a cup or large spoon, put it into a can which is kept in a cool place at a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Skimmings from the different milkings are cooled to the same temperature before being added to this stock can. The contents of this can must be stirred each time after adding the cream. When sufficient cream for a churning has been secured in this way the contents of the stock can are warmed to a temperature of 58 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and in winter 62 degrees Fahrenheit, then allowed to stand in a clean, well-ventilated place for twelve or eighteen hours to ripen. This warming is done by setting the can in a vessel of hot water. Frequent stirring is necessary during the ripening period. Cream properly ripened has a velvety and glossy appearance, with a mild but pleasant sour taste. When hand skimming is not practised the churning will have to be done more frequently to prevent the milk from becoming too sour and giving the butter a bad flavor.

Coloring the Butter.—The natural color of butter when the cows can get plenty of nature’s food is a soft, straw yellow. During the winter, if it is necessary to use dry feed alone, the butter will lack color which can be supplied by the addition of a harmless coloring matter. The amount of coloring matter necessary to use varies with the season but usually 8 to 12 drops of harmless vegetable coloring to every pound of butter will be sufficient in the winter time. This coloring matter may be bought at most drug stores.

Churning.—When the cream is ready for churning, rinse the churn with scalding water to cleanse it thoroughly and to swell the pores in the wood. Following this, cool the churn with cold water to prevent the raising of the temperature of the cream when put into the churn. The cream should be poured through a strainer into the churn to remove lumps or hard white specks of cream which may have dried to the sides of the can. Gas will form in the churn during the first few minutes of churning which must be let out by removing the cork at the bottom of the churn. It may be necessary to repeat this operation several times. After the churn has been in operation about 20 minutes, the cream becomes thick and shortly after, very small, mealy granules begin to form. At this point the cream begins to break away from the glass in the top of the churn lid. When this stage is reached, after every four or five revolutions the lid should be removed and the size of the granules observed. When these have reached the size of large wheat grains, the churning operation has been completed. At this point the glass in the top appears clear which indicates that the granules slide off instead of sticking to the top. It usually takes at least 25 minutes to churn good butter. If it takes longer, the temperature of the next cream churned should be raised a few degrees.

Washing the Butter.—When churning is completed draw the buttermilk off through a strainer to catch small particles of butter. The butter is washed to remove the buttermilk, to improve the flavor, and to keep better. Buttermilk is washed out of the butter and not worked out. The temperature of the wash water should be the same as that of the buttermilk and is determined by the use of a thermometer. This temperature depends upon the condition of the butter; if the butter is too soft the water must be colder, and vice versa. In washing butter, water is added and the churn given two or three revolutions so as to turn the butter; after which the water is drawn off and the process repeated several times until the water drawn off is clear.

Salting the Butter.—The butterworker, paddles, and mold or printer are scalded and cooled in the same way as the churn and for the same reasons. The churn is then drawn near the worker and the butter granules removed with paddle or ladle and placed on worker. The hands must never touch butter for sanitary reasons and because they will give the butter a greasy appearance. As soon as the butter is placed on the worker, one ounce of fine, clean salt to a pound of butter is sprinkled uniformly over the butter.

Working the Butter.—Butter should then be worked well to distribute the salt through it and to expel the excess water. Butter is salted to improve the flavor, to serve the market purposes and to some degree to act as a preservative. In working the butter, the pile of granules is pressed flat with the lever, and the flattened mass of butter turned over about 12 or 14 times until the edges of butter, when broken, have a granular appearance similar to a broken half-baked potato. Too much working destroys the grain and the edges when broken apart will have a slightly stringy appearance, while too little working gives a streaked or mottled butter.

Printing and Wrapping the Butter.—The printer is removed from the water as soon as the working has been completed and with both hands it is pressed on the mass of butter until it is packed full. That remaining over the edge is then cut off with a paddle and the print pushed out on a sheet of parchment paper and neatly wrapped. The printing and wrapping of butter cannot be emphasized too strongly, for a good appearance is fundamental to obtaining good markets for the butter. It is very much easier to get a good market for butter packed neatly in parchment paper than it is for that wrapped in a cloth as is the case in so many country homes. It is very important that a good grade of parchment paper should be used for wrapping butter and this can be bought from firms handling dairy supplies or it may be ordered by mail. The brick-shaped mold is used because prints can be handled with convenience and such prints are a standard on the market. A mold of this kind can be purchased from local hardware stores or mail order houses for from $1.50 to $5.00. The placing of the wrapped print in a pasteboard box or carton not only protects the butter from the finger prints but also from dust and dirt. These cartons may be bought from any firm handling dairy supplies. Butter put up in this manner is convenient to handle, attractive in appearance, and is also an advertisement.

Marketing the Butter.—The appearance of the package determines to a large extent the selling price of butter and every effort should be made to make it as neat, attractive, and convenient to handle as possible. The ultimate end in the making of farm butter is to supply a delicate food for the family and to obtain a profit from the surplus. To do this, it is necessary to create a demand by giving satisfaction to your customers. This can be done by putting up butter superior in quality and attractive in appearance.

BUTTER WORKER