64 DAIRY CHEMISTRY 



The temperature at which cream should be churned 

 varies from 50° to 60° F., depending upon the ripe- 

 ness of the cream and its general characteristics. 

 Sweet cream should be churned at a lower tempera- 

 ture (50° to 55°) than ripened cream (58° to 66°). It 

 is not possible to assign a definite temperature for 

 churning so as to secure the best results with all 

 kinds of cream. The most suitable temperature for 

 the conditions under which the butter is produced 

 must be determined by trial. A preliminary churn- 

 ing can be made at a temperature of 60°, the charac- 

 ter of the butter noted, and if it is too hard in texture 

 and fails to churn in a reasonable time, the next 

 churning can be made at a slightly higher tempera- 

 ture, 62°. If, however, the butter is soft in texture 

 and churns in too short a time, the temperature has 

 been too high. Thick cream should be churned at a 

 lower temperature than thin cream. The right 

 temperature for churning also depends largely upon 

 the character of the fat globules. If the hard fats, 

 stearin and palmitin, predominate, as is frequently 

 the case when the cows have been long in milk and 

 have received an excess of coarse, dry fodders with a 

 scant amount of grain, the cream will have to be 

 churned at a high temperature. During churning 

 there is a rise in temperature of two or three degrees, 

 due to the agitation of the cream, and when the 

 churn is first started there is a slight production of 

 gas which should be allowed to escape. 



The completeness and ease with which cream is 



