The Art of Butter-making.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 43214, 13 August 1907, Page 2

The Art of Butter-making.

A PRIZE ESSAY.

BT KB MCKEE. (Manager Manawaru Co-operative Dairy Co.) (Continued from last issue). - SEPARATING AND T'EMPERATUBE. In separating milk in large quantities for butter-making, the greatest care should be taken that the separator is skimming clean, as a poor skimming separator will waste more cream in a day than a careful butter-maker will save in a week. In starting a separator, it is a good plan to Blow the engine down before putting the belt on to the tight pulley on the intermediate. Then pull the driving rope with the hand till the separator gets well going. About one and a-half gallons of lukewarm water should be poured into the bowl 80 as to steady it and give it a nice smooth start. The speed of the engine can then be increased gradually till the separator is running at full speed. The speed should be taken before starting separating, and now and then while separating is in progress. "When the separator is running at full speed there should be no signs of vibration about the frame or a humming noise coming from the disc or bearings. To ascertain if the separator is skimming clean, a sample of the skim-milk should be taken every day and kept in a bottle till test-day, when it should to tested. This composite sample should not vary more than from 'O2 to'o6. Should it be higher than this the separator requires seeing to. During the summer months when the milk is at the flush and the pastures are fresh, the milk should be heated to 85deg Fahr, before separating. In the autumn and winter months, when there is not so much nourishment in the pastures and the cows are far gone in lactation, the milk should be heated up to 120 deg Fahr. before separating. The cream when separated should contain about 38 per cent, of fat.

HANDLING OT CREAM AND RIPENING. As soon as the cream comes from the separator it should be run over a cooler and the temperature reduced to 65dog Fahr. when it reaches the cream vat. As the cream is runuing into the vat the starter should be added, about three per cent, being generally used. The cream should bo stirred every twenty minutes so as to thoroughly mix the starter and to keep the cream at a uniform temperature. As soon as the starter is added the acid in the cream will commence to develop, and the butter-maker has to watch and see when sufficient acid has developed to commence the further cooling of the cream. For this purpose a very useful appliance has been introduced—namely, the alkaline test. By means of this test tho butter-maker is able to ascertain the acidity of the cream and to calculate when he will require to reduce the temperature of the cream from day to day. When the ripening has reached a certain stage .the butter-maker will reduce the temperature of the cream by means of refrigeration to a degree that will leave the cream at churning temperature the following morning. For cream-testing 38 per cent, of fat, about 42 per cent, of acid, is usually considered sufficient. The starter is made by heating milk to about 2Oodeg Fahr., and then cooling it down to 66deg and adding more culture, usually about three per cent., which has been kept back from the previous day’s make. The starter, when ready for use, should contain 85deg of acid by the alkaline test. If it is weaker than this more culture should be used, or, if stronger, lees culture. It is not advisable te keep the same starter going too long, as the flavour may not be sound, although it has the proper percentage of .acid in it. CHURNING AND WASHING THE BUTTER. When about to commence churning fill the chum about one-third full, or just sufficient cream so that when it swells it will not fill the churn full. The proper temperature for churning cream is from 48deg to 50deg in the summer time, and from 54deg to 56deg in the winter. After the chum has been going for three minutes stop it and remove the ping to allow the gas to escape, and again in ten minutes. After the chum has been going for about an hour the partly ohurned cream will be seen to leave the glass. Stop it and add just enough ohill water so that the butter-milk will be ready to drain off in ten minutes. The temperature of the water should not be above 40deg. The higher the temperature of the water the more will be required, always provided that is lower than tha temperature of the cream. The cream should be churned till the granules of butter are about the size of a grain of wheat. If too much water has been added the butter will take too long to come, and it will cause the texture to be greasy ; if to little water has been added the granules will be very uneven in size and the buttermilk will not separate from the milk freely. As soon as the butter is churned enough the butter-milk should be drained off. Add chilled water, leaving the tap open till the water runs out clear. After sufficient water haß been added to float the butter, give the chum about six revolutions and then drain the water off. This should leave the butter granules all separated and comparatively dry and the water that is draining off should contain very little buttermilk. SALTING, WORKING AND PACKING.

The method mostly practised in New Zealand for salting the butter is to salt it before it is taken from the chum. As soon as the wash water has drained off the chum, the salt is put in, usually at the rate of about 6lb of salt to 1001 bof butter. As the salt is her ing put on the butter is turned by swingmff the chum so as to get it evenly distributed. A small quantity of preservative—usually Jib to 201 b of salt —is mixed with the salt to assist the keeping qualities of the butter. The salt should be perfectly dry and free from lumps, so that it will readily dissolve when it comes in contact with the butter. After the salt has been added, the churn should be turned several times till the butter has gathered into lumps. The butter is then ready to be worked. When working the butter the buttermaker has to use his own judgment as to when it is worked enough. If it is overworked the body of the butter will be weak or the texture greasy. If it is not worked sufficiently, there will be too much face moisture showing. The sooner the butter is packed after being worked the better. If it is left lying on the table too long the colour will be affected. Streaky butter may result from uneven salting or from churning cream that has an excessive amount of froth upon it. In packing the butter the aim should be to turn out a package with a neat and attractive appearance, the correct weight and one which, when turned out on the counter of the retailer at Home, will net show any holes or crevices in it, but will be a solid, compaot mass throughout. The boxes should be clean and tidy, and free from any greasy spots or dirty marks. In buttermaking the main point to be borne in mind is cleanliness, from the cow to the manufactured article, and the dairymen and buttermakers of New Zealand should work together and endeavour to turn out an article that will realise the highest price in the leading butter markets of the world.