212 Milk and Its Products 



milk or cream through this wide range of tempera- 

 ture, the quality of the butter is very seriously af- 

 fected. The butter is in the best condition when it 

 is churned at such a temperature that the particles 

 of fat unite readily, and when united form firm 

 masses or granules of butter. The temperature at 

 which this desirable end is brought about varies 

 under a wide range of conditions, the most impor- 

 tant of which are the following: The individuality of 

 the animal ; the period of lactation ; the nature of 

 the food of the cows ; the season of the year. 

 These conditions are all conditions which affect the 

 melting point of the butter fat. The higher the 

 melting point of the fat, the higher the tempera- 

 ture at which the milk should be churned, and the 

 lower the melting point of the fat, the lower the 

 churning temperature. Any condition which tends 

 to make the butter fat hard will necessarily be fol- 

 lowed by a rise in the churning temperature, and 

 any condition which tends to make the butter fat 

 soft will for the same reason be followed by a 

 fall in the churning temperature. It is impossible, 

 then, to name any single temperature which is the 

 best or even the proper one at which to churn ; 

 but while there is a considerable range of tempera- 

 ture, which under different conditions may give the 

 best results, still this range is not so wide as the 

 range of temperature at which it is possible to 

 churn, and the limits may perhaps be placed at from 

 50 to 66 F. In general, the lowest temperature 

 compatible with securing butter in a reasonable 



