BUTTER MAKING. By Horace Walpole, Te Awamutu.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1596, 26 September 1882, Page 3

BUTTER MAKING. By Horace Walpole, Te Awamutu.

I\ the dietary of all civilised nations of tbo globe butter holds a high place. With the cultivated and refined it ia everywhere recognised as one one of the crowning luxuries of a perfect meal. The tables of wealth and refinement are never complete without it. Its absence would create a void that nothing would fill, But it is the perfect article that takes this strong hold of the appetites of men. The imperfect article is despised. Nothing could be more indicative of the esteem in which the* extremes are held than the terms used to designate them— "gilt edged" and "grease." Commercially, it assumes large proportious. It is au article of extensive traffic, and interests everybody, for every family either makes or buys. An article in such general use and general esteem ought to be so well understood as to ensure, in all respects, perfection in its manufacture, so that nothing but a perfect article would ever be'sent from any farmer's home. There is the greater necessity for this, since its commercial value depends upon the extent to which the palate is pleased. But experience does not run in this direction. Perfection is the exception instead of the rule, and it is not very strange that it is so, for theartofbutter-makingisaniutricateoper-ation. Its success depends upona succession of little acts, each one of which is liable when not performed aright to alter the whole character of the production, The correct performance of all these little acts involves an acquaintance with the properties of milk which the present extent of practical and scientific knowledge renders it difficult to acquire. The yield of butter from milk varies much according to a variety of circumstances, such as the breed of the cow, the nature of food upon which it is fed, the way in which that food is given, the mode of housing, the care and gentleness with which the animal is treated, and upon certain physiological circumstances, which it is not always easy to determine, and of the nature of which we unfortunately are yet in great ignorance. The yield, and unmistakeably the quality, of the butter is greatly influenced by the way in which the milk is treated, both before and during the process of churivng. Butter is made up of —on an average to the hundred parts—B2| of pure oil or fat; 1\ of casein or curd ; and about 15 per cent of water containing a little salt. The oleaginous particles of milk or cieam aie present in the form of globules, these being coated, so to s*y, with the albuminous or nitrogenous portions in the form of casein. The globules vary in size, and according to the proportion of their presence is the richness of the butter which may be made from the milk. They are of less specific gravity than the fluid portion of the milk; they therefore rise to the top and form there. This is allowed to remain quiescent, a scum more or less dense is formed, which is the cream. The cream contains, besides the oleaginous globules, a consideiable proportion of the salt, and the sugar of the milk, together with the casein which envelopes the globules of oleaginous matter. These globules in the act of churning are set free by the agitation of the mass breaking up the envelopes of the casein. This indicates that a certain time will be required in the operations of churning, before the casein will be separated from the oleaginous portions, or in other words the butter. Hence will be seen the doubtful results—to put the matter in the mildest way —of the operations of those churns which aie adveifcised as possessing the great merit of bringing the butter quickly, some claiming to be able to do this in five minutes. All good dairy managers admit that to get the best butter, the operation of churning should be a comparatively slow one, fi om thiee quarters of an hour, up to two hours, an hour being a fair aveiage. This will, howaver, vary accoiding to the season; the operation being a much more tedious one in winter than in summer. When the butter is sepaiated from the cieam, the buttermilk remains, containing the casein, and salt and sugar; although a proportion of these is taken up as we have seen, with the butter. The greater the proportion of casein left in the butter, the poorer is it in quality, and the more quickly will it become lancid. There are several difteicnt varieties of vessels used for setting milk, and each has its advocates. I shall only mention three of these. First, is a pan made with two bottoms, one half inch apart, with watertight divisions extending nearly across the pan lengthwise and at alternate ends butting against the end of tho pan, thus forming a channel that compels the water, which is let into the space between the bottoms at one corner, to flow back and forth across the pan lengthwise, till it is let out at the other corner on the same end where it enters. The discharge orifice is rai&ed above the bottom so as to keep the space always full, and the inlet is higher than the discharge to give the water head. The ingress and egress of water is regulated by faucets, and a faucet is also placed at one end of the pan to diaw oft' all the water between the bottoms when desired. The pan is one &olid structure, there being no inside pau to lift out as in the ono first described. It is designed to rest on a table made with a top of matched boards to keep the warm air of the room from the bottom of the pan. Another form of vessel for setting milk, which has gained consideiable reputation, is the large square or rectangular pan. There are several varieties of this pau in use, some of which vary but little from each other. I will give you a brief description of one. It consists of a large rectangular pan within another, with a space of half an inch or so between them to admit water. They are made of very heavy tin, and not more than six or eight inchs deep, and of a size suited to the amount of milk they aie desired to hold. The outer pan may rest upon a frame or a table, as preferred, and the inner one hangs upon its edges, is moveable, and can be taken off at pleasure to wash or repair if there is occasion. A small stream of water is led by a pipe into one corner of the lower-pan, and after filling the space between the two is made to pass out at the opposite corner. Another style of pau that is more durable, cheaper, and very easy to clean, adapted for a small dairy is the small tin pan, holding eight or ten quarts, which, until a few years since, held sway almost without rival, and is still largely in use. Its form is too familiar to need any description. It has answered the purpose well, and borne of the finest butter known is still made from milk set in these pans. They have some advantages over any other vessel m use ; they cool the milk readily without the ,use of water ; they are light and easy to, " handle and cleanse: their small size adapts them to situations where no other kind would suit; they are conveniently stored away when not in use, and are cheap and durable. An improvement in the manufacture of these pans has enhanced their value. They are now made without seams by pressing sheet iron into the proper form and then tinning it heavily afterwards. (To be continued.)

•Man ia very much like an egg ; keep him in hot water and he's bound to become hardened.