296 CHURNING 



adjusted to the size of the churn and that a churn about one- 

 third to one-half full will do most satisfactory work. The 

 crowding of the churn, in order to make one churning out of 

 two, is usually poor economy of time. More time is required 

 to churn out the butter from an overfilled churn than by divid- 

 ing the cream into two batches and churning each separately. 



Preparation of the Churn. Before the cream is transferred 

 to the churn, the churn should be properly prepared as to 



rig-. 48. Heavy Duty Dual churn 

 Courtesy Creamery Package Mfg. Co. 



cleanliness and temperature. New churns generally have a pro- 

 nounced woody odor which is prone to be absorbed by the but- 

 ter unless the churn is previously treated to remove this odor. 

 If the churn is a new one that has never been used, or an old 

 one that has been laying idle for some time, it should be soaked 

 with a solution of milk of lime or other alkali -solution for sev- 

 eral days before it is used. Milk of lime is preferable because 

 it helps in hardening and closing the pores of the wood, thus 

 assisting in excluding grease, curd and other impurities which 

 are prone to lodge and which sooner or later become the cause 

 of a foul smelling churn. Other alkali solutions, such as wash- 

 ing powders, sal soda, etc., while effective as purifiers, tend to 

 soften the wood and to leave its pores open. Lime has the 

 further advantage of absorbing and removing from the churn 

 woody and other undesirable odors. Brine or buttermilk are 

 frequently used for removing the woody odor. While these 



