FARM BUTTERMAKING 123 



When butter churns very soft two washings may be ad- 

 vantageous. Too much washing is dangerous, however, 

 as it removes the deHcate flavor of the butter. 



Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the importance 

 of using clean, pure water for washing. Experiments 

 have shown that impure water seriously affects the flavor 

 of butter. When the water is not perfectly pure it should 

 be filtered or pasteurized. 



Salting. It is needless to say that nothing but the best 

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

 readily soluble in water and free from impurities. If there 

 is rnuch foreign matter in salt, it will leave a turbid ap- 

 pearance and a slight sediment when dissolved in a tumb- 

 ler of clear water. 



Object of Salting. Salt adds flavor to butter and ma- 

 terially increases its keeping quality. Very high salting, 

 however, has a tendency to detract from the fine, delicate 

 aroma of butter while at the same time it tends to cover 

 up slight defects in the flavor. As a rule a butter maker 

 will find it to his advantage to be able to salt his butter 

 rather high. 



Rate of Salt. The rate at which butter should be 

 salted, other conditions the same, is dependent upon mar- 

 ket demands. The butter maker must cater to the mar- 

 kets with regard to the amount of salt to use as he does 

 with regard to color. 



The rate of salt used does not necessarily determine 

 the amount contained in butter. For instance it is per- 

 fectly possible under certain conditions to get a higher 

 percentage of salt in butter by salting at the rate of one 

 ounce per pound than is possible under other conditions 

 by salting at the rate of one and a half ounces. This 

 means that under some conditions of salting more salt is 

 lost than under others. 



