CHAPTER XII 
FINISHING AND MARKETING BUTTER 
WHEN the churning process is complete, it still 
remains to separate the buttermilk from the granules 
of butter, and to bring the whole into a solid, uni- 
form mass, suitable for consumption and properly 
flavored with salt. These operations may be per- 
formed in a variety of ways. Formerly it was the 
custom to continue the churning until the butter 
was in a measurably solid mass, when it was re- 
moved from the churn and the buttermilk expelled 
by pressure, at the same time that the salt was 
incorporated with the butter. Now the buttermilk 
is uniformly removed from the butter by washing 
with water in the churn, and in many _ instances 
the salt is incorporated with it during the whole 
or part of this operation; but the more common 
practice is to wash the butter in the churn and to 
work out the surplus moisture and incorporate the 
salt upon a separate instrument, called a butter 
worker. 
Washing the butter.—The churning should be 
stopped as soon as the buttermilk is clear and wa- 
tery. If the churning has been done at the right 
temperature and the cream properly ripened, this con- 
(220) 
