78 ILLINOIS dairymen's association. 



A very successful butter maker in Minnesota told me he was not able to get 

 the butter to take the salt properly, or as evenly as he wanted it to, if he 

 allowed the granules to become larger than mustard seed. If larger than this, 

 he said a magnifying glass would show white spots of unsalted butter. His 

 practice is— and it is the practice of most good butter makers — to draw off the 

 buttermilk immediately on stopping the churn, and then to pour into the churn 

 enough water, at 55 degrees or below, to float the butter, when the churn is 

 gently agitated a few moments, and the water drawn off. The second washing, 

 done in the same way, is with cold brine, made of the purest salt that can 

 be obtained. How strong this brine should be is a question for debate. Prof. 

 L. B. Arnold says " a weak brine" is best ; but this is very indefinite. I 

 think few, if any, use a saturated brine. Some say they "throw in a few hand- 

 fuls of salt"— more indefinite still. Sometimes I have advised the use of a 

 pound of salt to twenty pounds of water, which makes an excellent liquid to 

 soak rennets in for cheese making. This, however, may not be strong enough. 

 A saturated brine, I understand, hardens the caseous and albuminous matter, 

 while a weaker brine of the right strength softens the caseous matter and 

 makes a soft coagulum of the albumen which is soluble in cold water. In 

 such a condition, the caseous matter and coagulated albumen are readily washed 

 out with cold water used in subsequent washings. I would like to learn just 

 how strong the brine should be to prove the most efficacious. Perhaps some of 

 the scientific gentlemen present can give the desired information. 



When butter is treated in the way I have described, no working at all is re- 

 quired. It is only necessary to repeat the washings until the water runs clear. 

 Nothing like gathering or packing the butter should be done. If the water is 

 cold enough, there will be no adhesion of the granules. They will remain dis- 

 tinct, and can be stirred around in the water, floating them with perfect ease ; 

 and when the water is all drawn off, they can be ladled out of. the churn and 

 placed on the table or butter- worker without packing them in the least. In this 

 condition they are prepared to receive the salt; but the butter should be allowed 

 to stand, either in the churn or on the table, until all the water has drained out 

 that will. In a half hour or an hour the butter, piled in a mass, will drain 

 sufficiently dry. It is not desirable to get all the water out. Enough should be 

 left in the butter to dissolve the salt and make sufficient brine to penetrate the 

 whole mass. 



Many suppose that when it comes to salting the butter, it should be pressed 

 into a compact form, spread out in a thin sheet, and have the salt sprinkled 

 over it. Then I have seen this sheet rolled up into a cylinder, which was then 

 flattened out into a thin sheet again, more salt sprinkled on, and again rolled 

 into a solid cylinder. After the salt is all rolled in, by this process, the lever 

 is brought to bear and the butter worked until the salt is supposed to be evenly 

 incorporated. Then many set the butter aside, for twelve or twenty-four 

 hours, when it is brought out and again worked, to get out any white streaks 

 that may appear. 



Now, this may be a good way, if the salt is to be " worked in." But there 

 is a more excellent method. It is to stir the salt into the butter, while the lat- 

 ter is still in the granular form. Years ago, I heard Hon. Harris Lewis say that 

 he sprinkled the salt on his granulated butter, and carefully stirred it in with a 



