r.rrrER. 



BUTTER 



its quality. There is a mode of | limning butter for domestic use 

 without mlt. in the following manner : the butter is set in a clean 



Kover the fire, and melted very gently ; it is not allowed to boil, but 

 sited very nearly to the boiling point. Exiierirnce has shown this 

 heat to be attained when the reflection of the white of the eye is 

 distinctly seen on the surface of the butter on looking down into the 

 pan. AUthe watery particlesarethaevaporated,anilUiecuid, of which 

 a portion always remains in the butter, and which is one cause of its 

 t ~"""Hg rancid, falls to the bottom. The clear butter is (xmred into 

 an earthen vessel and covered over with paper ; and a bladder or a 

 piece of leather ii tied over the jar to exclude the air. When it is 

 cooled it much resembles hog's lard. It has lost some of its flavour, 

 but it is much superior to salt butter for culinary purposes, and 



TheDevonahire method of making butter differs materially from the 

 enmtnon process which we have described, and is peculiar to that 

 county. The milk, instead of being set for the cream to rise, is 

 plsnnil in tin or earthen pans, holding about eleven or twelve quarto 

 sarh. Twelve hours after milking, these pans are placed on a broad 

 iron plate heated by a small furnace. The milk is not allowed to boil, 

 bat a thick scum rues to the surface. As soon as small bubbles begin 

 to appear, where a portion of this is removed with a spoon, the milk fs 

 taken off and allowed to cool. The thick part is taken off the surface, 

 and this is called do*ttd or clotted rream. It is a sweet, pleasant sub- 

 stance, more solid than cream, but not so solid as butter; and is 

 considered as a dainty by all those who have been early accustomed to 

 it. A very slight agitation converts it into real butter ; after which it 

 is treated exactly as we have before described. It does not appear that 

 there is any peculiar advantage in the Devonshire method. 



Another method of making butter, which is more generally adopted, 

 is to churn the milk and cream together. This method is pursued in 

 parts of Holland, Scotland, and Ireland, and is said to produce a 

 Mater abundance of butter from the same quantity of milk. In the 

 Dutch method the milk is put into deep jars in a cool place; each 

 meal, or portion milked at one time, being kept separate. As soon as 

 there is a slight appearance of acidity, the whole is churned in an 

 upright churn, which, from the quantity of milk, is of very large 

 dimunxioiu. Tho plunger U therefore worked by machinery moved by 

 a hone or sometimes by a dog walking in a wheel, which he turns by 

 his weight. When the butter begins to form into small kernels, the 

 contents of the churn are emptied on a sieve, which lets the butter- 

 milk pass through. Tho butter is then formed into a mass, as 

 described before. In Ireland the process is very similar, but the milk 

 is allowed to arrive at a greater degree of acidity, which is a defect. In 

 Scotland the following method is pursued : tho milk is allowed to cool 

 for six hours, and then put into a clean vat. As long as it remains 

 sweet more milk may be added, but not after any acidity is produced. 

 It is then covered and allowed to get sour, till it coagulates at the top ; 

 this coagulum is called the lapper, which must not be broken till the 

 butter is churned. When the clotted milk is put into the churn, warm 

 water is added, so as to raise the temperature to 70 or 80, the whole 

 being gradually stirred in. When this is properly conducted, the 

 butter-milk will be very pleasant and wholesome, with a sub-acid taste, 

 the serum and curd not being separated from each other for some time 

 after. The butter U said to be fully equal to that made from cream 



Butter in a most valuable article of commerce, and a great source of 

 wealth to those nations which produce it in the greatest perfection. 

 The Dutch has a high character ; but the rich pastures in England and 

 Ireland can produce as good butter as those of Holland, if sufficient atten- 

 tion be paid to the minutiae of the dairy, to the purity of the salt used, 

 and especially to cleanliness, for which the Dutch are so remarkable. 

 The quality of the butter depends on some very minute circumstances, 

 which escape the notice of all superficial observers. The smallest 

 particle of putrescent matter, accidentally added, and even mere 

 effluvia, give a turn to the chemical action going on from the moment 

 the milk is exposed to the air, and they taint the cream more or less. 

 The quantity of pure cream which rues when the milk is set in the 

 pans, as well as its quality, is influenced by these circumstances. When 

 the milk curdles before the cream is separated, it U almost impossible 

 to prevent some portion of the curd from being mixed with the butter. 

 In its iwrfectly fresh state the taste is not affected by this ; but the 

 butter will not keen fresh above twenty-four hours, and when salted 

 soon becomes rancid. Thus a greater quantity is produced, but of 

 inferior quality. When cheese is made of the milk from which the 

 cream has been taken, it will be found most profitable not to attempt 

 to take off all the cream br repeated skimming ; for more will be gained 

 in the better quality of the cheese than by an increase in the quantity 

 of the butter at the expense of the quality. 



It is an acknowledged fact, that such are the niceties of the dairy, 

 that great experience alone can ensure a produce of superior quality : 

 this experience would be more readily acquired if the circumstances 

 were accurately observed and noted. We would recommend to those 

 who have extensive dairies, to mark by the thermometer the tempe- 

 rature of the milk and cream in the different stages of the process, 

 onnadonslly to tost the acidity of the butter-milk by means of alkalies, 

 aad to note any peculiarity in the atmosphere by an electrometer. A 

 faw observations carefully noted, repeated, and compared, would 



throw more light on the true causes which favour or oppose the 

 production of good butter, than all the guesses that have hitherto 

 bsjssj : 



The quality of the butter depends materially on the nature of the 

 pasture. The best is made from cows fed in rich natural meadows. 

 Curtain plants which grow in poor and marshy soils give a disagreeable 

 taste to the butter. When cows ore fed with out grass in the stable the 

 butter U inferior, except in the case of some artificial grasses, such as 

 lucerne. Turnips and other roots given to cows in winter communicate 

 more or less of a bad taste to butter, which is corrected in some degree 

 by means of a small quantity of water and saltpetre added to the milk ; 

 and also, it is said, by giving aalt to the cows with their food, lint 

 there is no butter made in winter equal to that which is made h- n- 

 the cows are fed entirely with good meadow hay, especially of the 

 second crop, called aftermath hay, which contains few seed-stalk*. 

 Among the methods recommended for removing a taste, whether f 

 turnips or any other plant, in the food of cows, from their butter, tin-re 

 may be enumerated the use of (1) Chloride of lime (a drachm to 

 every expected pound of butter, added to the water of the second 

 washing) ; (2) Saltpetre (a dessert spoonful of a strong solution, added 

 to every two gallons of milk as it comes from tho cow) ; (3) Vinegar (a 

 half-pint added to every gallon of the cream before churning) ; i ; 

 water (a half pint boiling added to every gallon of milk as it comes 

 from the cow, and allowed to stand for half an hour before setting for 

 cream). This, with cleanliness and care to avoid the use of tainted 

 food, seems to be the most probable of success : the explanation being, 

 that the aroma flies off with the steam, when the milk is thus kept 

 warm for a sufficient length of time. 



The yellow colour of fine May butter is frequently imitated arti- 

 ficially by mixing some ground arnotta root, or the juice of carrots, 

 with the cream. This is easily detected by the taste of the 

 which is not improved by it, and has not the peculiar flavour f line 

 grass butter ; but in other respect* it is a harmless addition. Some 

 cows give a much yellower cream than others, especially the A! 

 cows, and the butter made from it is of a peculiarly fine flavour. When 

 a cow has lately calved the milk is also much yellower, but this soon 

 goes off if it be not the natural colour; and the butter made by mixing 

 this with other milk, although of a deeper colour, is not improved 

 by it. 



nling to the accounts of the produce of butter from different 

 countries and various breeds of cows, it appears probable that, on an 

 average, 4 gallons of milk produce 16 ounces of butter; .-in. I to make 

 the feeding of cows for the dairy a profitable employment in England, 

 a good cow should produce 7 Ib. or 8 Ib. of butter pur week in 

 summer, and so much leas than that quantity in winter, OH that, all' wing 

 from six weeks to two months for her being dry before calving, the 

 whole produce of the year may be from -JJ(i lit. to 2i<>lli. If she 

 produces more she may be considered as a superior cow ; if mu. 

 she is below the average. To produce this quantity the pasture must 

 be good, and if we allow three acres to keep a cow in grass and 1 

 a year, which is not very far from the mark, the butter will produce 

 about 122., at the distance of 50 miles from London, if it is sold in a 

 fresh state. This, with the value of her calf, does not much more 

 than pay rent and expenses; but the profit is increased by feeding 

 pigs, or making skim-milk cheese. 



An inferior kind of butter is made in some cheese dairies from the 

 oily portion of the milk skimmed from the whey, which is set in pans 

 like milk after the cheese has been made. It is sold at an inferior price 

 to labourers, and seldom comes to market. It is totally unfit for ivilt in;, 

 and keeping. It is known by the name of whey butter. 



It has been discovered, within the lost four years, that cheap butter 

 U occasionally adulterated with fl'mt. Flints are ground, and c hemi- 

 cally treated until soluble, producing 'soluble silica.' When this 

 preparation U dissolved in water, it becomes a stiff gelatinous l i\. 

 somewhat resembling strong jelly. This jelly is mixed with but 

 low quality, to which fresh salt and colouring matter are added. The 

 compound bears a considerable resemblance to dairy -made butter : but 

 it has not the firmness or bright appearance of the genuine eonmio- 

 dity, and is devoid of the richness and wholesome qualities. Of course 

 tho object in view is to increase the weight of ordinary butter by tho 

 addition of a substance of very small cost. Unfortunately, butter 

 consumers have seldom the skill or facilities for detecting such 

 adulterations. 



Considered in its commercial relation, butter is an article of much 

 importance. In Europe, the greatest trade in butter belongs to tho 

 more northern nations. Tho quality of that produced in England and 

 in Holland is the best in tho world. A considerable quantity of I 

 butter is exported from Holland ; but all the pnxlucc of England is con- 

 sumed at home, in addition to large quantities imported from Ireland 

 and the north of Europe. About the year 1790, the total quantity 

 imported was 200,000 owts. annually ; 21.1,000 cwts. in 1800 ; 300,000 

 in 1810; 805,000 in 1820; 420,000 in 1826. No account of the im- 

 portations from Ireland can be had later than 1825; the intercourse 

 between the two islands having at that date been placed upon the 

 footing of a coasting-trade. On the other hand, there is no statement 

 of imports of butter from foreign countries of an earlier date than 

 1801. Therefore, it U only between 1801 and 1825 that the official 

 tables show the real quantity of butter brought into Great Britain. It 



