352 WORKING THE BUTTER 



rated. The working capacity of these churns is far 'below their 

 churning capacity. The reason for this absence of proper pro- 

 portion between churning and working capacity is obvious. 

 Most of these churns were designed some twenty to thirty years 

 ago and the design, from the standpoint of working capacity, is 

 the same now as it was then. But in those early and formative 

 days of the creamery industry the creameries received and 

 churned a much thinner cream than they do now. Twenty or 

 more years ago the cream separated on the farm averaged around 

 20 to 25 per cent fat. During the last score of years the cream- 

 eries, the dairy schools and the dairy press, all have pointed out 

 to the farmer the advantages of separating a richer cream and 

 urged him relentlessly to produce and ship cream with a high 

 per cent of fat. This campaign for richer cream, together with 

 the abandonment of gravity creaming and the universal adop- 

 tion of the farm cream separator, had their desired effect. Today 

 many creameries receive cream testing as high as 50 per cent 

 fat and the average cream when churned probably contains not 

 less than 33 per cent fat. 



It is obvious that combined churns and workers, designed 

 for a working capacity of 20 to 25 per cent cream, have their 

 workers overloaded when operated to the limit of their rated 

 churning capacity, with cream that tests 33 per cent fat. 



The overloading of the workers, whatever its cause may 

 be, is bound to result in incomplete and uneven working, lack 

 of uniformity of salt and moisture, inadequate fusion of brine 

 and water and consequent streakiness and mottles. 



Manner and Amount of Working. After the wash water is 

 drained from the churn, the churn is given one revolution to 

 bring the butter on top, in front of the churn doors. A deep 

 trench is then dug in the butter, running the entire length of 

 the churn. The salt is placed into this trench, care being taken 

 that the salt is distributed uniformly in all parts of the trench, 

 otherwise there is prone to be a variation in color in butter 

 from different parts of the churn. After salting, the trench is 

 closed and the worker started. Some butter makers prefer to 

 work the butter a few revolutions (3 to 6) before salting, either 

 in the presence or absence of extraneous water, claiming that 



