CHAPTER XXXIII 



BUTTER-MAKING 



"Bread is the staff of life, but bread and butter is a gold- 

 headed cane." 



TT^XAMINE the cream and take the tempera- 

 ■^-^ ture. If too cold it must be heated. It is 

 a bad plan to bring the cream into a warm place 

 to stand over night. It may be already quite sour, 

 and during the long, slow heating process it is de- 

 veloping more acid and deteriorating in quality. 

 Nor should it stand on or near the stove. One 

 portion of the cream is sure to become overheated, 

 the fat melts, and the curd toughens and appears 

 later in the butter as white specks. 



The proper method of heating cream is to set 

 the can in a vessel of warm water at a temperature 

 of about 1 20 degrees. Stir the cream constantly, 

 watching the thermometer, and when it is within 

 one or two degrees of the required heat lift it 

 from the water; the heat in the can will usually 

 bring the cream to the desired temperature. This 

 takes only a few minutes, and is the surest and 

 best way. 



The necessity for the constant use of a reliable 

 thermometer must be emphasized. The finder, 



[186] 



