66 DAIRY CHEMISTRY 



ripened, exhaustive churning has been secured when 

 the butter is in this condition. Excessive churning 

 may result in spoiling the grain of the butter and 

 prevent thorough washing to remove the buttermilk. 

 The nature and extent of the washing of butter 

 should be regulated largely by the condition in 

 which the butter granules are found at the close 

 of churning. Ordinarily, butter is washed with 

 water at a temperature of from 45° to 55°, and the 

 working continued until the washings which drain 

 from the butter are clear. It is preferable to re- 

 move the buttermilk as early as possible and then 

 continue the churning in a not too cold wash water, 

 rather than to overchurn the cream at first. The 

 amount of salt necessarj^ to add at the time of work- 

 ing will depend largely upon the market require- 

 ments ; usually three quarters to one ounce of salt 

 per pound of butter will be sufficient. Not all of 

 the salt added is retained in the butter ; a large 

 portion of it is removed during the process of work- 

 ing. From the amount of cream churned and its 

 richness in fat, the probable butter yield can be 

 determined ; so the amount of salt required can be 

 calculated with a good degree of accuracy. 



66. Dairy Salt. — For dairy purposes salt of a 

 high degree of purity is necessary. Many such 

 salts are found on the market, ranging in purity 

 from 97 to 99 per cent, the principal impurities 

 being gypsum and small amounts of other salts. 

 Salt should be entirely soluble in water, any residue 



