20 DAIRYING 



is soft, a few pieces of clean ice may be placed on it in the chum 

 during the draining- of the last of the buttermilk. 



Washing the Butter. 



414. After all the buttermilk is removed, cold water having 

 a temperature of about 55 degrees F. is added to the granular 

 butter until the churn is about one-half rilled. The cover is then 

 put on and after standing until the granular butter has hardened 

 cr reached a temperature of about 55 degrees F., the churn is 

 then slowly revolved from five to ten times so as to rinse all the 

 buttermilk from the butter granules. This wash water is then 

 drawn off. Another washing with cold water may be given the 

 granules if they seem to show a milky or curdy appearance. This 

 second washing is seldom necessary, but it is sometimes bene- 

 ficial, especially if the cream was a little too ripe when churned 

 or the butter granules too soft. 



415. The wash water should be absolutely pure and whole- 

 some, as defects may easily be started in the butter by using an 

 unclean wash water or ice, as these may introduce putrefactive 

 germs into the butter. Nothing but the purest drinking water 

 should be used for washing the butter, soaking the churn and all 

 other utensils used in butter making. 



416. The temperature of the wash water is very important, 

 as churning the granular butter in water that is warmer than the 

 butter tends to soften the granules and to make an excessive 

 amount of water stick to the butter fat. By excessive churning 

 of the granular butter in warm water or in warm buttermilk, the 

 water content of the final butter may easily exceed the legal limit 

 of 16 per cent. This may be avoided, however, by washing the 

 fine granules of butter with water cold enough to harden them 

 and not leave the butter in a soft, mushy mass. 



417. Under certain conditions of churning the granular but- 

 ter needs no washing. If a ripe, rich cream is churned at a low 

 temperature so that the buttermilk is about 50 degrees F. when 

 drawn off, it will be noticed that the last drainings of buttermilk 

 are watery and the granular butter shows no milky buttermilk 



