282 CHURNING 



tains bran and cottonseed meal, the butterfat is prone to be 

 relatively firm and the fat globules are slow in uniting into but- 

 ter granules. This condition is further intensified by the fact 

 that the fat globules in winter cream are relatively small and the 

 cream is often of viscous nature due to the advanced state of the 

 period of lactation of the majority of the cows. Where butter 

 is made on the farm and the buttermaker therefore has the feed- 

 ing under his control, the addition to the ration of some con- 

 centrate rich in vegetable oil, such as linseed meal, or gluten 

 feed, will help to overcome churning difficulties. In summer 

 when the cows are on succulent pasture, which tends to lower 

 the melting point of the fat and frequently causes the butter to 

 come too quickly and in soft and slushy condition, the difficulty 

 may be avoided by feeding a small amount of dry hay if avail- 

 able, or cottonseed meal, or other feed producing hard fat. In 

 the creamery, where the buttermaker has no control of the feed- 

 ing, the difficulty can best be overcome by adjusting the churn- 

 ing temperature so as to make the butter come moderately firm. 

 In summer the chief remedy against too rapid formation of the 

 butter granules and the production of an excessively soft and 

 slushy butter lies in the proper lowering of the churning tem- 

 perature. 



Viscosity of Cream. The more viscous the cream the more 

 time is required to complete the churning. The viscosity of the 

 cream counteracts to a considerable extent the concussion to 

 which the fat globules must be subjected, in order to make pos- 

 sible their coalescence. In very viscous cream the fat globules 

 strike each other less readily and with less force than in cream 

 free from abnormal viscosity. The churning difficulty is further 

 greatly intensified by the obstructing effect of the great volume 

 of air which is beaten into and held by this viscous cream. 



Abnormal viscosity of cream is often due to its peculiar 

 chemical properties. Cream from stripper cows and cows which 

 have been in milk for a prolonged period is prone to show 

 pronounced viscosity and often churns with great difficulty. This 

 is especially true with certain individual cows. Such cream 

 usually contains a relatively high per cent of solids not fat, and 

 these solids, especially the proteids, may be of abnormally 

 viscous character. 



