250 CHURNING AND WASHING BUTTER 



that makes a practice of testing its buttermilk daily reported 

 to us that for the months of June and July their average loss was 

 .85 per cent, some samples running as high as 1.25 per cent. 

 Their tests were made by the Mojonnier method. So there 

 is no question concerning the accuracy of the results obtained. 



The high per cent of fat found in buttermilk during the 

 period when cream is very sour is no doubt caused by the 

 high acid coagulating a portion of the casein into small hard 

 lumps, which are not entirely broken up by the process of 

 neutralization or churning. 



Another thing that will affect the loss at this period is, 

 the amount of cream received is very large; buttermakers are 

 crowded with work, churns are filled too full, and cream is not 

 held for a long enough period at churning temperature to 

 thoroughly chill the fat. The result is that the large globules 

 unite quickly in the process of churning, due to the soft condi- 

 tion of the fat, and the smaller fat globules are carried off in 

 the meshes of the casein into the buttermilk. It may be 

 possible that the high acid in the cream partly removes the 

 film from the larger fat globules, and in the process of churning 

 they break up into smaller particles of fat. We have no 

 positive knowledge that this is the case. 



In the investigation pursued by the American Association 

 of Creamery Butter Manufacturers it was found that where 

 the churn is filled about one-third full and the cream is held 

 for several hours, or overnight, at churning temperature a 

 more exhaustive churning is obtained than where cream is placed 

 in the churn immediately after being cooled. Where the lack 

 of churn or vat space compels quick churning of the cream, 

 it is better to cool the cream down four or five degrees below 

 the normal churning temperature. The temperature that 

 cream can be churned at will depend upon the per cent of fat 

 in the cream. Cream that contains from thirty to thirty-five 

 per cent fat can be churned at a very low temperature, especially 

 cream that contains a high per cent of acid. 



The speed of the churn has also a direct bearing on the 

 temperature at which cream can be churned, and also a bearing 



