FARMERS' REGISTER— MAKING AND SALTING BUTTER. 



589 



should be done, too, immediately after the lapper 

 has been broken in the churn; and it should be 

 poured in gradual!}' by one person, while another 

 is churninijf; tor it' jjoured in either too suddenly, or 

 too hot, it will wet a portion of the butyraceous 

 substance. It should also be observed, that when 

 the milk has been either too much heated or too 

 quickly churned, it becomes solt and of a pale 

 color. From two to three hours is the usual time 

 required for churning milk, but this depends on va- 

 rious circumstances of quantity, quality, and sea- 

 son; much less is I'equisite for cream, and least of 

 all for that which is clouted. 



After the butter is formed, the usual practice is 

 to wash it in scv-eral waters till all the milk is re- 

 moved; but care should be taken not to knead or 

 beat it immediately, as it would be thus rendered 

 tough, and the less it is handled, after being once 

 made, the better. Some advise the milk to be 

 forced out of the cavities of the butter by means of 

 a flat, wooden ladle, furnished with a short handle; 

 but, although the beating of butter up by the hand 

 is an indelicate practice, it is yet so established in 

 all dairies, and so much the most easy and effec- 

 tual, that any attempt to abolish it may be consi- 

 dered hopeless. As it is hurtful to the quality of 

 the butter to pour much cold water on it during this 

 operation, the butter, if too soft to receive the im- 

 pression of the mould, may be put into small ves- 

 sels, and these be permitted to float in a trough of 

 cold water beneath the table, without wetting the 

 butter, which will soon become sufficiently firm. 

 Or, when butter is first made, after as much of 

 the milk has been got out as possible, it may be 

 thinly^ spread on a marble slab, and the remaining 

 moisture be absorbed by patting it with clean dry 

 towels. 



On the making up of butter, and particularly on 

 the admission of water, whether warm or cold, 

 into the churn, tlie following pertinent observations 

 occur, in the Agricultural Survey of Sussex, on 

 the dairy system of that county: — "Water is well 

 known to be a great dissolvent; at least, if it be 

 not essentially so, it serves as a conducter to air, 

 which is universally such. Fresh butter then, in 

 consequence of imbibing water, and water being 

 saturated with air, is always in a progressive state 

 of decay. Not so when water is excluded; its 

 oleaginous parts are admirabi}' calculated to secure 

 it from putrefaction: and it is not improbable that 

 butter might be made with as little trouble as the 

 present method, to keep the whole year fresh and 

 sweet, with the least particle ot salt, solely by the 

 exclusion of water. In order to effect this, the 

 floor of the dairy should be kept perfectly dry, for 

 ■water thrown down in hot weather will assuredly 

 rise again in steam, and affect the milk with its 

 humidity. The vessels used for holding the milk, 

 the churn, and all the dairy utensils, after being 

 first washed clean, should then be rinsed a first 

 and second time with sweet milk — a cruet, wash- 

 ed ever so clean with water, will cause vinegar to 

 become dreggy; but if rinsed with a little of the 

 same, will alwaj-s appear limpid and clear. No 

 water to be put in with the cream when it is 

 churned. The butter, as it is taken out, to be put 

 into a tray, full of holes, and placed over any other 

 vessel; but not to be squeezed into lumps, as it will 

 drain the better forbeingloose in Its texture. It should 

 then (after having well drained) be removed to a 

 tray without holes, and be kneaded with the hands 



(first rinsed in whey) and formed into a thin flat 

 cake, slightly sprinkled with salt, and left in that 

 .^tate lor about half an hour; by which time the 

 salt will have extracted the whey, and it may be 

 made up in the usual manner." 



Butter, thus freed fi-om the remaining milk, is 

 called _/>t!s/i butter; and, when sold on the spot or 

 in neighboring markets, it is formed into rolls 

 weighing half a pound or a pound, or into lumps 

 of 24 ounces, termed dishes in Somersetshire and 

 some other parts of England. But where it is in- 

 tended to be kept, or sent to a distance, it is salted 

 by the process immediately to be described, and is 

 put into casks, which contain respectively 28, 56, 

 or 84 lbs., and usually denominated half firkins, 

 firkins, and tubs. Previously to putting the butter 

 into these vessels, especial care must be taken that 

 they be well seasoned by frequent v.^ashing and 

 exposure to the air for two or three weeks. As 

 it is very difficult to season new firkins, it will al- 

 ways be joreferable to employ those which have 

 been already used, where they can be returned to 

 the dairy owner. The most sj)eedy method of 

 seasoning firkins is, by the use of unslaked lime, 

 or a large quantity of salt and Avater well boiled; 

 with which they should be repeatedly scrubbed, 

 and afterwards thrown into cold water, to remain 

 there three or four days till wanted. They should 

 then be scrubbed as before, and well rinsed with 

 cold water; and, before the butter is put in, every 

 part of the inside of the firkin must be well rubbed 

 with salt. 



The ordinary process of salting butter, after the 

 milk has been forced out ot it in the manner al- 

 ready described, is, to work into the butter one or 

 two ounces of salt, so thoroughly that it shall be 

 equally incorporated with the mass; for if it be not 

 equally mixed in every part, the butter acquires two 

 colors, becoming yellow where the salt has fallen, 

 and white where it has not, or in some places is 

 termed "pyety"or "pinsowed." The salt employ- 

 ed for this purpose should be oi' the purest kind, 

 well dried and broken down, but not completely 

 pulverized. Dr. Anderson, however, recommends 

 the following prejiaration, which he has expe- 

 rienced to be much superior, as it not only prevents 

 the butter from becoming in any degree tainted or 

 rancid, but also improves its look or appearance, 

 while it imparts a sweeter or richer taste than 

 could have been effected by the use of common 

 salt only. 



Let two parts of the best common salt, sugar 

 and saltpetre of each one part, be completely 

 blended together by beating, and add one ounce 

 of this mixture to every pound of butter; incorpo- 

 rate it thoroughly in the mass, and close it up for 

 use. 



It will be necessary, however, to keep butter, 

 thus prepared, for two or three weeks before it is 

 used, otherwise it will not taste well; but, if pro- 

 ))erly cured, according to the hints above given. 

 Dr. Anderson states, that it will continue so per- 

 fectly sweet for three years, as not to be distin- 

 guished from newly-made and salted butter. In 

 Holland, it is said, that the salt for butter that is 

 intended to be kept, is mixed with the milk before 

 it is churned, by which means both its flavor and 

 conservative qualities are more efli?ctually impart- 

 ed. We cannot vouch either for the practice or 

 its effects; but it certainly is worth a trial. 



The best butter is that made during the sura- 



