CHURNING 103 



seems to be preferred and this is the color now used in 

 creameries. 



Gas in Churn. During the first five minutes of churn- 

 ing the vent of the churn should be opened occasionally 

 to relieve the pressure developed inside. This pressure 

 according to Babcock "is chiefly due to the air within 

 becoming saturated with moisture and not to gas set free 

 from the cream." 



Size of Granules. Butter should be churned until the 

 granules are about half the size of a pea. When larger 

 than this it is more difficult to remove the buttermilk and 

 distribute the salt. When smaller, some of the fine grains 

 are liable to pass out with the buttermilk, and the per- 

 centage of water in the butter is reduced. When the 

 granules have reached the right size, cold water should 

 be added to the churn to cause the butter to float. Salt 

 will answer the same purpose. The churn is now given 

 two or three revolutions and the buttermilk drawn off. 



Washing Butter. One washing in which as much 

 water is used as there was cream is usually sufficient. 

 When butter churns very soft two washings may be 

 advantageous. Too much washing is dangerous, how- 

 ever, as it removes the delicate flavor of the butter. 



Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the importance 

 of using clean, pure water for washing. Experiments 

 conducted at various experiment stations have shown 

 that impure water seriously affects the flavor of butter. 

 When the water is not perfectly pure it should be filtered 

 or pasteurized. 



SAI/TING. 



It is needless to say that nothing but the best grades 

 of salt should be used in butter. This means salt readily 



