BUTTRB.] 



CATTLE, AND THEIlt VARIIuTIES. 



rUUTTEIl. 



too loiifj. Should this linvo been the case, the 

 butter will liave a bitter tHste, and he desti- 

 tute of that agreeable llavour which (»ui,'ht to 

 form an important element in every kind of 

 dairy [iroduce. Tho best butter is supposed, 

 by some, to be made from one-half of Houred 

 cream, and the remainder from fresh. The 

 reason assigned for this is, that tliere is a 

 suUiciency of the lactic acid in this portion to 

 facilitate the operation of churning; whilst, 

 in tho remainder, there will be enough of the 

 caseous matter to prevent insipitlity in the 

 butyraceous mass. Let it always bo re- 

 membered, that if a rancid or disagreeable 

 taste be imparted to butter, it is no longer fit 

 for the table ; it cannot be used for the pur- 

 poses for which it is essentially made ; although 

 it may be so far restored, or improved from its 

 disagreeable state, as to become suitable for 

 pastry purposes. As the unpleasant acids 

 with which it may be suflused are all, to a 

 certain extent, soluble in water, the butter 

 should be immersed in clear, fresh spring 

 water, then placed over a slow fire, and kept 

 there until the liquid boils. It should then 

 be skimmed, and the butter put into fresh 

 cold water, again to undergo tlie boiling pro- 

 cess. After this it should be thoroughly 

 washed, when it will be freed from many of 

 its impurities, and may be very well adapted 

 for pastry, although it will be too insipid for the 

 table. "When butter has to be preserved, or 

 packed for transportation, the author of TJie 

 Cow directs that it should be salted. " If it is 

 to be moved far, it may be necessary to pack 

 it well, and exclude the air. Hence, when it 

 is made on a large scale, it is put in firkins, or 

 casks, holding from three to five stones, which 

 are carefully fastened up by the cooper, so as 

 to exclude the air. Salt is well known to 

 have the power of preventing animal matter 

 from falling into the putrefactive state, by 

 means of its peculiar antiseptic power, which 

 prevents the caseous matter of the butter 

 from becoming putrid, and running into decay. 

 But such is the afiinity of salt for the moisture 

 of the atmosphere, that the outer portions of 

 the butter soon become subject to the changes 

 which contact with the atmosphere produces, 

 la order, therefore, to keep it for any length 

 of time, it must eitiier be covered with a 

 saturated solution of salt, or with a syrup of 



sugar, which has tho same efl'ect. Otherwise 

 it must be placed in casks wiiicli are air-lij^dit, 

 or nearly so, with the toj) and bottom dndged 

 with salt. In fact, the more tho moisture is 

 protected from the attnosphcMv, the Uiore closely 

 will tho wood of the cask adhere, and vice 

 versd. A very important meaiiH of preserva- 

 tion is thus allbrdcd to the dairyman, and to 

 the inhabitants of our large towns; for without 

 this, even with all our facilities of railway 

 transit, it is difficult to conceive liow a constant 

 supply could be maintained. Tho lirkins mado 

 in summer are opened in winter; and, thougli 

 not so rich in tiieir contents as tho fi-esh 

 products from the dairy, they form a second- 

 rate class of butter by no means disagreeable, 

 called kennel butter. When these are opened 

 for use, a very free washing should be given 

 them, to wash out the soluble lactic acid ; and 

 the butter should afterwards be well washed, 

 and kneaded in new milk. This gives it much 

 freshness and flavour, which improves and 

 renders it, if well made and packed, much 

 more pleasant than some of the turnip-flavoured 

 fresh butter made in winter." 



In France, Bretagne butter has obtained 

 great celebrity, for which it is almost entirely 

 indebted to the mode of its manufacture. The 

 immense sale which it has, necessitates it to 

 bo made in large quantities, and this circum- 

 stance greatly ijnproves its qualities. The 

 manner in which it is produced for the market 

 is by no means complicated. After being 

 churned and washed, it is steeped, or sprinkled 

 abundantly with new milk. It is then kneaded 

 into cakes of a cyliudrical form, and placed, 

 for a few minutes, in a kind of cylindrical 

 frying-pan, with heated coke both below and 

 above. After this, it is taken out in a con- 

 dition ready for immediate use. Although 

 the flavour of this butter is peculiar, it is es- 

 pecially rich. 



Butter does not seem to have met with the 

 same favour among the ancients that it has 

 generally among the moderns. It was lato 

 before the Greeks appear to have had any 

 notion of butter ; their poets make no mention 

 of it, and yet are frequently speaking of milk 

 and cheese. The Romans used butter no 

 otherwise than as a medicine, never as a food. 

 The ancient Christians of Egypt burnt butter 

 in their lamps instead of oil ; and in the 



G79 



