CARE OF MILK ON THE FARM 333 



temperature for two hours. In summer from fifty to fifty-eight 

 degrees F. is the most favorable churning temperature, and in 

 winter from fifty-four degrees to sixty degrees F. Care should 

 be taken to prevent the cream from becoming too sour; other- 

 wise the butter will have a sour flavor and poor keeping quali- 

 ties. Cooling may be accomplished by placing the can of cream 

 in the cooling tank and stirring occasionally. Do not put ice or 

 cold water into the cream. 



How to churn. — Churning is the next operation. There are 

 several types of churns which may be used with good results, 

 but the barrel churn is probably the best suited to farm butter- 

 making on a small scale. It is simple, easy to wash and operate, 

 and is inexpensive. 



When the cream is ready for churning, scalding w^ater should 

 be put into the churn and the churn turned over a few times. 

 This will cleanse the churn and swell the pores of the wood if it 

 has a wooden barrel. Scalding should be followed by rinsing 

 with cold water. The butter workers, paddles, ladles, and printer 

 should be given the same treatment and all but the worker placed 

 in cold water. 



The cream may now be poured through a coarse strainer into 

 the churn. Straining is necessary to remove dirt particles and 

 break up any lumps in the cream. The greatest concussion 

 occurs if the churn is only one-third full. If too full it A\all take 

 longer to churn. For best results the churning time should be 

 from thirty to forty minutes. If butter comes in a shorter time 

 it indicates that the churning temperature was too high. High 

 temperatures and too rapid churning cause a loss of butter fat 

 in the buttermilk, salvy butter, or a butter which contains too 

 much buttermilk or too much water. 



Coloring the butter. — A small quantity of butter color is gen- 

 erally added, except in the early spring or summer, when the 

 butter has sufficient natural color. The amount of color required 

 will vary from tw^enty to thirty-five drops per gallon of cream, 

 according to the percentage of fat content. 



When the color has been added the cover may be clamped on 

 and the churn given a few turns. The churn is then turned bot- 

 tom side up and the cork removed to allow the gas to escape. 

 This should be repeated two or three times early in the churning. 

 The churn should be turned at a speed that will give the greatest 

 concussion or " thumping, " which is ordinarily about sixty turns 

 to the minute. After about twenty minutes of churning, small 

 granules are formed and on the glass in the churn a thick mass 



