286 SALTING AND WORKING OF BUTTER 



the two. Curdy specks, as the term implies, are small white 

 particles of curd throughout the butter that are visible to the 

 naked eye. Overripening of either the starter or the cream may, 

 and probably will, produce curd particles that will show in the 

 butter, especially if the cream is not strained into the churn 

 through a fine strainer. Avoid these faulty conditions; break 

 up and mix the starter thoroughly before putting it into the 

 cream ; and strain the starter into the cream and the cream into 

 the churn. 



To insure uniform salting it is advisable to bring the butter 

 up on the shelf and rolls, make a trench in it from end to end 

 of the churn leaving both ends closed and distribute the salt 

 evenly along the trench. Should the butter be in a very firm 

 condition a little water should be added to the salt. The 

 trench is then closed so as to cover the butter before the workers 

 are started. 



As butter is worked it becomes an aggregation of butter 

 granules with the intervening spaces occupied by water, curd and 

 air. The more butter is worked the smaller the intervening 

 spaces. On the broken surfaces of worked butter and under the 

 microscope the water appears in the form of round droplets. 

 The less the butter is worked the larger the drops and the more 

 ragged the break or grain. The more the butter is worked the 

 smaller the droplets of water and the shorter the grain. If the 

 working of butter continues, air to the extent of 10 per cent or 

 less by volume is incorporated. 



When a piece of butter is torn from the partly worked mass 

 its broken surface is very irregular and shows large drops of 

 water, like tears. Upon squeezing, a shower of water falls out 

 of the butter. If packed in this condition the butter would leak. 

 As the working progresses the drops become smaller and smaller 

 and fewer can be squeezed out of a piece. The working has 

 produced the desired end when the broken surface sparkles with 

 small droplets of water like pinheads and only two or three drops 

 fall out upon squeezing. If packed at this stage the butter has a 

 beautiful grain and does not leak; but if worked beyond this 

 point the droplets of water disappear, the grain becomes short 



