NOTES ON BUTTER FACTORIES.

Press, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5461, 21 March 1883, Page 1 (Supplement)

NOTES ON BUTTER FACTORIES.

[From the " Weekly Press."] . * We hare recently been directing the * attention of our readers to the importance * of the movement now on foot throughout j the colony, for the establishment of cheese <\ factories. There is another important 1 branch of the dairy industry which must f not be forgotten, and that is, the manu- 1 facture of butter, especially for the supply J of the large centres of population through- * out the colony. It may be argued that our ? towns are well supplied with butter at the present time. This we grant. But 5 here we must stop. Every housewife in a Christchurch knows how difficult it is to procure anything like a constant supply of 1 really good butter throughout the year, and every butter producer —at least,' the great bulk of them—has had practical experienpe of the fluctuating^nature jj of the market, and the wretchedly lpw ° pripee they' are' compelled, to, accept during a the seaeoq when, b.ufter is mo&1> nje*#foi> i often not tnore %ha.n ad pep lb. A. few I careful butter makers realise as much as > Is per lb all tie year round, proving that t the good article will always command a J remunerative price. It is well known that f butter.raaking ooaaes to be profitable when \ butter falls much below Is per lb. We " know of" a large dairy-farmer who converts g the whole of his milk into bntter as~ long 1 as he can get Is per lb for it. When it falls much below this he manufactures cheese, having found from experience that the latter paid best when sold at 6d per lb. We feel convinced that the time has s arrived when steps should be taken to start ■ v butter factories in some of the well-grassed a districts about Christchurch, Tai Tapu or Lincoln. vwfttA tVtfoiriS? unal}. -In ract, the venture would, we itoel 1 sure, be quite withij| fa # | enterprising wmer. ig posseaed oi E four fit fifte acres cfri.h erasa land, witt a never failing supply of pure i : spring water. In passing through the Tai - Tapu district not long since; we noticed a t la»ge area under corn which, we unhesi- I tatingiy assert, would give a far <j

more certain return if it were laid down to permanent pasture and stocked with dairy cattle. A well kept dairy cow will produce 2501b. of batter in nine months, s calf, and a certain quantity of offal for pig feeding purposes. A factory such as we hare indicated, manufacturing a superior article, would find a ready sal for fresh batter all the year roum in Chrietchurch, at a uniform rate of 1 pep lb, and the surplus could be potte< down for tho London market, where butte is now selling at over Iβ 6d per lb. Th< batter, to be of the best quality, should tx made twice a week, and should be deliveret in town, where a general depot might b< established, properly fitted up for keeping the butter cool and sweet, where the general dealers could supply themselves, There is a movement on foot for the establishment of a frozen chamber in Christchurch for storing all kinds of perishable goods, such as meat, butter, fowls, eggs, &c. The depot might be in connection with the proposed frozen chamber. It is to be hoped that the project may be carried i out, as it would be the means of preventj ing the loss of hnndreds of pounds sterling worth of meat and of other articles of food during the hot weather. The manufacture of good butter is not so easy a matter as some might imagine. This may be gathered from the following suggestions made by Professor L. B. Arnold as to setting milk :— " let. To make the finest flavored and longest keeping butter, the cream must undergo a ripening process by exposure to the oxygen of the air while it is sweet. This is best done while it is rising. The ripening is very tardy when the temperature is low. 2ndAfter cream becomes sour, the more ripen ing the more it depreciates. The sooner i is then skimmed and churned the better but it should not be churned while tcx new. The best time for skimming am churning is just before acidity becomei apparent. 3rd. Cream makes better buttei to rise in cold air than to rise in cold water but it will rise sooner in cold water, and the milk will keep sweet longer. 4th The deeper milk is set the less airing the cream gets while rising. sth. The depth of setting should vary with the temperature ; the lower it is the deeper milk may be set; the higher, the shallower it should be. Milk should never be set shallow in a low temperature nor deep in a high one. Setting deep in cold water economises time, labor and space. 6th. While milk is standing for cream to rise the purity of tho cream, and consequently the fine flavor and keeping of the butter will be injured if the surface of the cream is exposed freely to air much wanner than the cream. 7th. When cream is colder than the surrounding air it takes up moisture and impurities from the air. When the air is colder than the cream it takes up moisture and whatever escapes from the cream. In the former case the cream purifies the surrounding air, in the latter the air helps to purify the cream. The selection of a creamer should hinge on what is more deaired—highest quality or greatest convenience and economy in time, space and labour." We notice by our recent Victorian files that a "creamery" has been established at Komeey, a place some forty miles from Melbourne. The factory has been at work since last September, and its promoters have spared no expense in making the establishment complete in every detail. The object is to supply condensed milk, j for which there is a good local market. It is stated that £12,000 is annually paid in! Victoria for condensed milk, which has ! been sold at 8s per dozen lib tins. Like our cheese factories, the supply of milk is not so good as might be expected, but the advantages of a ready sale for milk, at a paying price all the year round, is sure to produce the desired supply in the end. Wβ shall again revert to the subject of " Creameries," as well as to " The Curing of Bacon," as an industry which, although now much neglected, must ere long become as profitable as that of meatfreezring.