The Art of Butter-making.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43213, 10 August 1907, Page 2

The Art of Butter-making.

A PRIZE ESSAY.

BY MR DICKIE. (Manager Manawaru Co-operative Dairy Co.) Among the features of the Manawatu Winter Show was a competition for a handsome cup presented by Messrs Lovell and Christmas for the best essay on butter-making. Mr Cuddie, Government Dairy Commissioner, judged the essays. He said he had some difti ulty in deciding on the winner, as there were several excellent essays. He selected the essay of Mr Dickie, not so much for its liter ary merit, but because he thought it the most-concise and practical. Mr Dickie is the new’y-appointed manager of the Manawaru Co-operative Dairy Company. He is a son of ISI r David Dickie, of Mataura. The prize essr v is as follows :

. . B itter-making in New Zealand is very miu.li similar to butter-making in other countries in one respect —namely, if the buttermaker is going to turn out a first-class article he must have first-class material to make it from. If a milk supplier to a butter factory takes any pride in his calling he will see that eve: ything connected with his dairy is absolutely clean. The cowshed should be floored wiih concrete and have a concrete drain at the back of the cows as they stand in the bail for drainage. The shed should be situated on a piece of rising ground, if possible, aud the main drain should be carried well away from the building. It the shed is closed in it is necessary that there should be plenty of light and ventilation. If it is an open shed it should face towards the sun, if possible. The she 1 and yards should be thoroughly cleaned out after every milking and should be washed down with water at least once a week. The mil’ -cooling shed (a building which on many farms is conspicuous by its absence) should be situated at least sixty feet from the cowshed, and should also be provided with a concrete floor. Adjoiniug the cooling-shed there should be a tank for holding water for the purpose of cooling the milk, as it has been proved by experiments that milk that has been cooled as soon as it ops been drawn from the cow is far less liable to contamination than milk that has been placed in the can at a high temperature aud left to take its chance. This system of cooling milk bypassing it over a cooler through which water is circulating is much to be preferred to aeration, as in the latter case the milk comes more in contact with the air, and is therefore more liable to »absorb the germs with which the air abounds. The cooling-shed as well as the milking-shed, should be all whitewashed inside, and a fresh coat of whitewash should be put on every month. Tire cows’ udders should bo all washed and dried with a course cloth before milking, and the milkers’ bands should bo washed after every cow. If this system were adopted it would do away with the, dirty grit widen one too often sees in the bottom of milk cans when the milk is delivered at the factory. The milk buckets, coolers, etc., should be thoroughly scalded and cleaned immediately the milking is finished, because if the milk is allowed to dry on, a deal more labour is required to get them sweet and clean. If milking machines are used the cups, tubes, etc., should be carefully cleaned so as not to allow any contaminated matter to collect, or the quality of the milk |is sure to suffer in consequence. It is also important that the skimmilk should be emptied out of the cans as soon a 9 possible, and the cans washed and set to air before they are again required for use. It is also advisable that the night’s milk should bo stirred occasionally, and on no occasion should any air-tight lid be left on a can of milk overnight. CONDITION OF MILK AT FACTORY.

As the quality of the butter depends so much on the condition of the milk when it is received at the factory it is absolutely necessary that every precaution should be taken, and any milk that would give an objectionable flavour to the butter should be rejected. A competent man should always be in charge of the receiving stages, and he should have power to reject any milk that is not up to the desired standard. He should see that the supplier’s ciirt is clean, both inside and. outside. When the can is drawn up he will see at a glance if there is any foreign substance or clots of cream, etc., floating on the . milk. Then the sense of smell will tell him if the milk is sweet or sour, or if there is any objectionable smell about it. This smell may not be noticed until the milk has been disturbed or until the can has been emptied. As the man who is taking delivery of the milk is emptying each can, he should watch closely that no dirt that may have gathered in the bottom of the milk can is emptied in the weigh can. As soon as tho can is empty and before it is returned to the supplier, it

should be look into, to see that no foreign substance as yellow matter is adhering to the sides or bottom. If there is anything objectionable about the milk, or the cans appear to be dirty, the supplier should always be informed, or, if it is a bad case, the milk should be returned, as it is impossible to make good butter from inferior milk. This unpleasant duty requires a certain amount of tact, and it is the duty of the butter-maker to see that any fault is explained to the supplier, and that it is in his own interest to remedy it as soon as possible. TAKING THE SAMPLE I'OR TESTING. The system generally adopted in New Zealand for paying for milk supplied to a butter factory is to take a small sample in a sample bottle for a week or ten duys from each weighing of milk, and to keep it and then to ascertain by means of the Babcock test the amount of buttor.fatcontained therein. Payment is then made accordingly. . This system has proved to be much more satisfactory tlian the old system of paying for milk by weight. At one time it was thought by taking a small quantity of milk from each woighing and mixing them together for a number of days and then testing them that the correct amount of butter-fat supplied could be arrived at. Investigations go to show that this is not always the case. For oxample, a supplier may have two weighings of milk a large one testing 3‘6 per cent, of fat, aud a small one testing 4 per cent. When these two samples of equal quantity are mixed and then tested, the result would bo a test of 3 8 per cent. Now, it is clearly' seen that if the supplier gets paid for a 3'B test over the whole of his milk, he is receiving more than ( he is entitled to. To overcome this difficulty an apparatus has been invented which will take a small sample from a small weighing anda large one from a largo weighing. It consists of a hollow tube placed vertically inside the weigli-can and reaching from the top to the bottom. The lower end protrudes through the bottom of the can, and is fitted with a small tap. The upper end is fitted with a rod, which closes or opens holes which are fitted at equal distances along the tube. When the milk is weighed, the operator opens the holes into the tube, and the milk rushes in. Tho holes are then closed, the sample bottle placed under the tube, the tap is opened, and the sample is secured. This plan has already boon tried, and has proved to be very satisfactory. The composite sample can be kept sweet by adding a small quantity of bichromate of i potash to each

bottle. In making the tost, close attention should be paid to the temperature of the samples and the acids to be used, also the strength of the acid and the speed of the tester. If theso points were seen to, and the sample taken as mentioned abovo, the buttermaker should have no trouble with this branch of his business. (To be Continued).