HANDLING OF BUTTER AFTER CHURNING. 100 



five minutes. Draw off the water and drain; then 

 salt and work as usual. Be sure to observe how the 

 butter handles and if it is inclined to be soft (which 

 may mean an excess of moisture) work in the salt 

 at intervals, allowing the butter to stand a short 

 time between workings. 



137. Wash water should be put into the churn as 

 quickly as possible to avoid softening or hardening 

 part of the butter. Even when the temperature of 

 the wash water is the same as the temperature of the 

 butter, the running in of the water and the washing 

 and draining of the butter should be quickly done. 

 Most of the fine flavor in butter is supposed to be 

 volatile and it is therefore necessary that the butter 

 should not be subjected to much washing nor allowed 

 to stand in the wash water for any considerable 

 length of time unless the butter contains bad flavors. 



138. Quantity of wash water to be used. The larg- 

 er the quantity of wash water used the more readily 

 will the butter be freed of buttermilk, and the 

 smaller the quantity of wash water used the less 

 effect it has on removing the buttermilk. A small 

 quantity of wash water with butter of average con- 

 sistency has a tendency toward uniting the butter 

 fat more readily into large lumps. This is conduc- 

 ive to holding moisture in butter. 



The amount of churning that is necessary in wash 

 water depends first, upon the condition of the but- 

 ter and the firmness of the granules, second, upon 

 the temperature of the butter fat, third, upon the 

 amount of water used, and fourth, upon the quality 

 of the butter. 



