CAEE OF MILK ON THE FARM 335 



with cold water until cool, to prevent sticking. The butter 

 should now be removed quickly from the churn with a ladle and 

 paddle and placed on the worker. The hands should not touch 

 the butter. ' 



If weighing scales are available, weigh the butter before 

 placing it on the worker. Butter salt or fine table salt is then 

 sprinkled over the butter, allowing one ounce of salt for every 

 pound of butter. 



In working the butter, first press it with the lever into a flat 

 mass about one inch thick. This mass is then folded over upon 

 itself and again pressed out, not smeared or rubbed. This 

 process, which distributes the salt and works out the moisture, 

 should be repeated until the butter breaks when bent at an angle 

 of forty-five degrees. Overworked butter has a salv}^ body and 

 a greasy appearance. Underworked butter is generall}'' brittle, 

 gritty, with undissolved salt, and mottled in color. These unde- 

 sirable qualities reduce the palatability and market value of the 

 butter. 



Butter packages. — Butter intended for home use is generally 

 packed in glazed earthenware crocks. If intended for sale, it 

 should be packed according to the requirements of the local mar- 

 ket. Rectangular one-pound prints in cartons are generally pre- 

 ferred where butter is offered for sale, and such packages are 

 sanitary and easily handled. 



In making prints the butter is placed on a flat surface and the 

 i:)rinter pressed down on it until completely filled. The surplus 

 butter is then scraped off and the print pressed out on parch- 

 ment paper for wrapping. After wrapping, the butter should 

 be placed in a refrigerator. All utensils used in the butter- 

 making should be thoroughly washed with hot water, a dairy 

 cleanser, and a stiff brush, then rinsed w^ith hot water. 



MAKING CHEESE ON THE FARM 



American cheese. — In making cheese, trouble from the devel- 

 opment of undesirable bacteria in the milk may be avoided by 

 using milk freshly drawn from the cows. To remove the animal 

 heat and odor from the milk, it should be run over an aerator or 

 poured slow^ly from one container to another in a room where 

 the air is pure. When this process has been completed, the milk 

 is placed in a wash boiler or vat. 



If a strong color is desired, add one teaspoonful of cheese 

 color to every sixteen gallons of milk, first mixing the color in 

 a dipper of milk before adding to the main supply. Next add 



