136 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



3. Keep the churn clean and so set that it will not turn 

 over during the filling process. If the churn has not been 

 used for two or three days, it should be scalded and then 

 cooled with cold water. Even though it is used every day, 

 a good plan is to moisten the interior of the barrel with 

 cold water, so that the cream will not cling to the walls. 



4. Pour the cream into the churn through a wire or 

 perforated-tin strainer. In case of small churns, brass 

 or copper wire strainers are the most satisfactory. These 

 wire strainers should have about 20 meshes to the inch. 

 For straining the cream into small churns or straining the 

 buttermilk from either small or large churns, these wire 

 strainers may be made by soldering the brass or copper 

 wire cloth to a suitable frame. Often the wire may take 

 the place of the bottom of a large dipper. The purpose 

 of straining the cream when it is put into the churn is to 

 catch any foreign matter, such as flies and brush bristles, 

 and to cut or retain the lumps of curd that may have 

 formed in the ripening process. When cream is rather 

 poor in milk-fat, and when it has been highly ripened, the 

 serum becomes a rather hard curd, which, if not strained 

 out, will cause streaks or mottles in the butter. Occa- 

 sionally these particles of curd, if very hard, appear in 

 the butter as little white specks, which are sometimes 

 known as " white-caps." Such variation in color is 

 very objectionable to the purchaser. 



5. Add the color to the cream in the churn. Usually 

 one to three ounces of color to one hundred pounds of 

 milk-fat is sufficient. This may vary with different 

 brands of color, seasons of the year, breed of cows, and 

 market requirements. Ordinarily, the butter-maker is 

 not much concerned about the natural color of the milk- 

 fat, for he can easily color the butter artificially when he 



