BUTTER-MAKING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 9, 5 October 1918, Page 10

BUTTER-MAKING

lnt silllPilll'lt alDij

\: NEED OF CARE WITH MILK

j: 'Amongst several.interesting papers j .which were, read at the annual conferj'.ence of the Tasmanian Dairymen's As- [ spciationi, which was held in Launcesf ton recently, was one on "The Scien- | tifio Side of Butter-making," ': was read by Mr. H. M. Nicholls (State who stated:— •i; There is no one article of human j; diet that is more subject to undesirable than milk, while its principal I products—butter and cheese—though p less readily affected; may be classed as I: very susceptible. The change's that I, take place in milk may be duo to vari- : ous causes, such as unpleasant odours j--wising from improper feeding of the : cows, the presence of organic disease j in the animals, the storing .of milk in j the neighbourhood of -strongly-smelling ! substances, and so on. It is remarkJ able that very few commercially cqn- ■ cerned with the matter seem to realise ; the importance of these changes, or ■ ; - the necessity for controlling them, I though they are familiar .enough to ; every dairyman. They are indicated I by., sweet''and sour curdling, ropy or i'Blimy niilkj bitter, flavours, gassy milk,' j and the large variety of changes known as_ barny or cowy v odours. Milk con- '.' tains a certain number of micro-organ- '■ isms even as it is ieing drawn • from ■ the cow, as somo species have been j proved to exist in the cow's udder in i thg_ milk passages, but these are not I bo important from the economic standl point as those which are introduced ;: with dusi, dirt, or contaminated water. ■'Amongst the dirt organisms may be j included those from dust, hairs from j; the cow's body, dirt adhering to the ;■ .hards of the milker, or the udder of J the cow, dirf in the utensils used to j,; contain the milk,, and dirt in the water I- used to wash the dairy utensils. When :■; the cream is separated from the -milk* j a number of these injurious organisms ; - are sure to be carried, with it, and if i:-allowed to remain they will inevitably ,- multiply and produce charges of great which have a very marked K: effect on the character and ■ especially j -the keeping quality of the butter,made j from it. The greatest cleanliness in J all dairy operations, from the time j that the milk is. drawn from the cow, i> is therefore essential. The dairy ! should be free from dust and dirt, the I floors should be of such a nature that j" thfey can , be kept scrupulously clean, ! the cows should be kept clean and !' groomed, so that .the danger of .their ! shedding -.loose hairs into the milk is [.reduced! to. a minimum, and tho milk- ; er's hands should be aBWe reproach. j Tie. water'used, for'washing the dairy : r•■uten§ils,' should bo pure, or' at any: [rate,: sterilised by. boiling,' and there i should be no dust. Given these ideal ; conditions, it,is probablo that the milk [ and cream would contain so few micro--organism's ■ that the resulting butter i-wou d be-of-the best quality, and i would keep indefinitely, provided it got : --fair .-treatment in the factory, but it iV J to be regretted that such conditions i lop not. always prevail. Proper, treat-' ! ment oMhe cream after it has been' H. separated.-is required. ■ It may be aci cepted as an axiom that the cooler the. ; .cream .can. /D e .kept .between the ; time ,; that, it is separated and its removal kvto the factory the fewer inimical or|,,ganisms there will be'in it, and the bet- ;. ter butter there will make, so it is essential that attention should be paid \:W this very important detail. The •aims, that _ the cream producer should ; keep in view, therefore, are strict ; cleanliness and the- keeping of the ! oream at a low temperature until it ..reaches the factory. I take it that ;,'-.thp objects .of tho butter-maker are to i lar S est Possible quantities , ?, f * e ni2 hest grade butter, and keep :. it of uciform quality,-and this, I think ■must be •sometimes rather a difficult :, task under tho methods that are followed m many butter factories, where j-cream of many grades is delivered' in [■a day. Even with crenme of the hWi- ': est grade it is impossible to get larger i quantities from different suppliers in i an identical: bacteriological and chemif.cal condition, and when, tho deliveries : . trom.a large number of suppliers' are i 3m™ifl u £ , "-. it-would .be a I d.fficult.matter for.tho butter-maker I. to,, say. with any certainty what the ! grade or keeping qualities the butter ; Produced from them was going to be. , fortunately, science has devised a {method which, enables the butter-maker | ; to keep the control of these matters , in hiq on-n hands, and this method is i ; known as pasteurisation. In this pro- \ f ss the , cream 's lieated to a certain temperature, ■ eufficient to destroy the hving organisms in it without altering the character of tho'cream itself When the cream has been rendered ! Btenle, pure artificial cultures of those j organisms which h avo been proved by experience to bo the most beneficial from, the butter-maker's point oS ; are introduced and-encouraged to mul!'S ii 1 * fl Po ' ,slb,e c \° very, much im- ; prove tho_ flavour of butter made from ;■ *Pa»temsed cream by' the use of l^ 0 " but thrives the but-ter-maker only a very imperfect con- ! trol over tho fermentative processes . : fe highest pos S .ble control,'not only ! ties of the butter as well, pasteirisat7f u T en^ L ■■• Th »-fl«von? of tte ; butter depends to a, large extent on ; ew e o a t:tl, 5 time ' £?Lm \* hnmeA , or, as it has been ; scientifically expressed, on tho ratio ;■ between the amount of fat and tho r by products of the acid .fermentation 9 I ?™r!?"'?« d,t, ? n 1° • h,S, . I is very .-important, m that it destroys ; the organisms that e.wt «,', ini, lrio J ' hvS °-nr qualities of ( }r , b,lfc . ter .-- ■ butter-maker is rt ■ suit r ft t0 (i mt ™ ch ? tho "Wnisniß that ; suit him best, and regulate the flavour ; and keeping qualities of the butter as ■he chooses. One very important as'■Jh. °/i I,a , st " ,nsation that.it"on. ; ables the butter-maker to perpetuate any flavourg or qnal j ticg I-that aoqu.re popularity, as it is quite : PPSS.bIo to isolate the pnrtieuW „- : emisms that are responsible and cul-k-tiv-t-e them m sufficient quantities for I-future i,«e, thus enabling him to turn ■out unlimited quantities of butter'pos-f-'KKSing just the characters that the I public are looking for. ."