356 DAIRY BUTTER MAKING 



The causes of difficult churning in winter are practically 

 only two in number. First, the cream from which the butter is 

 attempted to be made has too often been kept so cold that the 

 bacteria producing the lactic acid, which in turn makes the 

 casein of the cream brittle, have not been able to grow. Thus 

 the cream remains sweet and tough, almost leathery in consist- 

 ency. To overcome this difficulty the cream must be warmed 

 and given time to sour. The second cause is a low temperature. 

 Butter fat at a temperature of 100 degrees F. is a liquid, while 

 the same globules at a temperature of 40 and even at 50 degrees 

 are so hard that they cannot stick together when they do touch 

 in the churning process any more than two tallow or wax candles 

 will adhere when knocked together. There is no necessity for 

 consuming more than half an hour in the churning process. To 

 obtain results, however, it is essential that the cream be sour and 

 that the temperature be high enough to cause the butter fat to be 

 slightly sticky. The churning temperature will vary all the way 

 from 55 degrees in summer up to 65 degrees in winter. The 

 higher temperatures will be needed where the cows are fed 

 considerable quantities of cottonseed meal, lower temperatures 

 where more com is fed. As a general rule 56 to 60 degrees will 

 be found desirable in the west and 58 to 64 degrees in Xew Eng- 

 land and the southern states. With cream adequately ripened 

 the length of time required to churn will regulate the tempera- 

 ture at which to chum. While it is true that stale cows and dry 

 feed aggravate the case they become of little importance to one 

 who will remember to " sour the cream and churn at 60." 



Butter Overrun. — The question is often asked why or how 

 it is that the creamery managers can pay to the farmer as many 

 cents per pound for the fat as are received for the finished butter. 

 The question also frequently calls into question the accuracy or 

 honesty of the testing. Then when the farmer is able to churn a 

 quantity of cream and from it secure considerably more butter 

 than he could be given credit for in pounds of fat at the cream- 

 ery, he is convinced that fraud has been perpetrated upon him. 

 To both these questions the answer may be given that the result 



