CHURNING AND WASHING.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 3190, 3 February 1928, Page 8

CHURNING AND WASHING.

The churn should be sealded before use, then xinsed with cold water. The" cream should be churned until it '' breaks'' and is separated into small granules of butter from the free buttermilk. It should not be churned into a solid lump at first, or it will be more difficult to remove all buttermilk from the finished butter. When it reaches the granule stage, run out the buttermilk, pour in some cold water and give a few more turns. If you have ice, use a small piece to cool down this washing water, for it will be found that water from a supply pipe is sometimes six or seven degrees higher in temperature than your cream was, and that, of course, is not good for the butter.

When the first washing water has been drained off wash once more with water, drain off, then lift the butter out on a clean table or clean, smooth boards—if you have no butter worker —and, after weighing, sprinkle half an ounce of salt, over it for every pound of butter. "This salt, all lumps rolled out, should be hand-worked in until it some of, the extra moisture that the lump. The kneading also serves to work out the remaining buttermilk and someoftheextra moisture that the butbutter has absorbed during washing.

The working can, of course, be done with, pats or a roller, but if the hands be thoroughly cleansed and dipped in the chilled or co6l water the result will be clean, wholesome butter that will keep as well as the best. In fact, farm butter, where absolute cleanliness is the rule, should keep as well and taste just as good as factory, for the reason that the factory must deal with all sorts and conditions of cream, from all sorts and conditions of farms, with varying standards of cleanliness. The pasteuriser, the refrigerator and modern scientific methods rectify this pretty completely Nevertheless, it is entirely possible for the small buttermaker who will exercise complete cleanliness in every stage of its production,

to turn out a product that will compare with the factory article, .even in hot weather- If he, or she, will not exercise complete cleanliness, that person should not attempt to make butter at all. ' It may be as well to add that in | winter, with its lower temperatures, we place our tins of cream by the fireside on the night before churning, to bring the temperature near to the right mark for next morning's operations.