THE ART OF BUTTER-MAKING

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVI, Issue 14416, 5 July 1907, Page 10

THE ART OF BUTTER-MAKING

Among the features of the Mwnawatu Winter Show was a competition for a handsome' cup presented by Messrs Lovell and Christmas tor the best essay on butter-miaking. Mr Cuddle, Government Dairy Commissioner, judged the essays. He said ho had some difficulty in deciding on the winner, as there were several excellent rs?ays. He selected the essay of Mr Dickie, not so much for its literairy merit, but because •he thought it the most concise and praoticaL Mr Dickie is assistant at the Cheltenham butter factory. He is a eon of Mir David Dickie, of Mataura. .Tho prize essay is as follows.:— ■

Butter-making in New Zealand is very much similar to butter-making in other countries in one respect—namely, if the butter-maker 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 everything connected with his dairy is absolutely clean. The cowshed should be floored with concrete and have ta concrete drain at the back of the cows us they stand in the bail for drainage. _ The shed should be situated on a piece of rising ground, if passible, and the main drain should be carried well away from tho building.. If the shed is ckspd in it is necessary that there should bo plenty of light and ventilation. If it is an open shed it should face towards the snn. if possible. The sh<-d and yaTdiS should be thoroughly cleaned owt after every miln.:"" and should be washed down with water at least once _a._week. Tho milk cooling shed (a building which on many farms is consnicuoiis bv its fbspince) should te sHviated at shed, and should afro be provided with a. concrete floor. Adjoining the coolins: ehed there should be a tank for .hold'iur rahr for tV purpose of cool-' ing the milk, as it bps proved by exTw'ments that milk that has been cooled as soon jik it has been drawn from the cow is fia.r less liable to oontiiTninition than milk that has hern placed in the can at a hieh temperature and left to take its chance. This system of eoolimr milk by passing it over a cooler through which water is oiTcntatin'r is much, to be preferred to aMrat'on. as in the latter oW the milk cows mo*-e in contact with the air, find is therefore more l'Vible to absorb the germs wi+h which the air abounds. The eoo-Hmr shed, as wel! as the milkintr shpd. fJiouVI h° all whitewashed in.«'de. flirid a fresh coat of whitewash should be put on every month.

The cows' udders should bo all washed and dried with h coarse cloth before milkine, mid the milker's hands should be washed after every cow. Tf this system were adopted it would do away with the dirty grit which one too often sees in the bottom of milk cans when the milk is delivered at the factory. The milk buckets, coolers, etc., shon l d be thoroughly eoa.lded and cleaned immediately the milking i'b finished, because if the milk in allowed to dry on a deal more labour is required to get them sweet and clean. Tf milking machines aTO used tho cups, tubes, etc., should be carefully cleaned, bo as not to allow any contaminated matter to collect, or the quality of the milk is sune to suffer in consequence. Tt is alfib important that tho skim-milk should to emptied out of tho cans as soon as possible, and the cans washed and fet to air before they an-e again reouired for use. It is also advisahlo that the night's milk should .ho stirred occasionallyj

and on no occasion should any air-tight lid be left on a cain of milk overnight. CONDITION OF MILK AT FACTORY.

As the quality of the butter depends I no much on the condition of the milk ! when it is received at, the factory it is I absolutely necessary that every precauI fcion should be taken, and any milk that ! would give an objectionable flavour to ; the butter should bo rejected. A oom- ; patent man efliould always bo in chargo .. of the receiving stages, and he Bibouldi i have power to reject any milk that is I not up to the desired standard. He I should see that the supplier's cart is clean, both inside and outside. When the can is drawn up he will see at iu glance if there is any foreign substance or clots of cream, etc., floating on the milk. Then the sense of smell will tell i him if the milk is sweet or sour, or if i there is any objectionable smell about it. This smell may not he noticed until I 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 tie bottom of the milk can is emptied in the weigh can. As soon as the can is empty, and before it is returned to the supplier, it should be looked into to see that no foreign substance or 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 ae possible. TAKING THE SAMPLE FOR TESTING. The system generally adopted' in- NewZealand for paying for milk supplied to a butter factory is to take a small sample in a sample bottle for a week or ten days from each weighing of milk, and to keep it and then to ascertain by means of the Babcock test the amount of. butter-fat contained therein. Payment is then made accordingly. This system ha 3 proved to be much more satisfactory than the old style of paying for milk by weight. At on« ti-ne it was thought by taking a small quai> tity of milk ! from each weighing 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 example, a supplier may have two weighings of milk—a large one testing 3.6 per cent of fat, and a small one testing 4 per cent. When these two samples of equal quantity are mixed and then tested, the result would b© a test of 3.8 per cent. Now, it is clearly seen that if the supplier gets paid for a 3.8 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 and a large one from a Large weighing. It consists of a hollow tube placed vertically inside the weigh-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 h>les into the tube, and the milk rushes in. The holes are then closed, the sample bottle placed under the tube, the tap is opened, and the sample ia secured. This plan has already been tried, and has proved to be very satis-

f actory. The composite sample can be kept sweet by adding a small quantity of bichromate of potash to each bottle. In making the test, close attention should be paid to the temperature of the samples and' the acid to bo used, also the strength of the acid and the speed of the tester. If these points were seen to, and the sample taken us mentioned above, the butter-maker should have no trouble with this branch of his business. SEPARATING AND TEMPERATURE.

In separating milk in largo quantities for 1. utter-making, the greatest care should be taken that the separator is skimming clean, as a poor skimming separator will waste moro cream in one day than a careful butter-maker will save in a week. In starting a separator, it is a good plan to slow 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 bo poured into the bowl so as to steady it and give it a nice smooth start. The speed of the engine can then bo increased gradually till the separator is running at full speed. The speed should bo taken beforo starting separating, and now and then wmlo separating is in progress. When the separator is running at full speed there should bo no signs of vibration about the frame or a humming noise coming from the discs 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 1 bottle till test day, when it should be tested. This composite sample should not vary more than from .02 to .06. Should it be higher than this, the separator lequires seeing to. During the summer months, when the milk is at the flush arid the pastures are fresh, the milk should be heated to 85deg Fahr. beforo 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 wien separated should contain about 38, per cent of fat. HANDLING OF CREAM AND RIPENING. As soon as the cream comes from the separator it should be run over a cooler and the temperature reduced to 65deg Fahr. when it reaches the cream vat.

As the cream is running into th© vat the starter should bo added. abou + 3 por cent being generally used. The cream should bo stirred every twenty minutes, so as to thoroughly mix the starter ia,nd to keep tho cream at a uniform temperature. As soon as the starter is added, the acid in the cream will commence to develop, and the but-ter-maker has to watch and see when sufficient aoid has developed to commence the further cooling of the -ream. For-tikis purpose a very useful appliance has boon introduced —namely, the lino test. By means of this test tho butter-maker is able to ascertain the acidity of tho cream and to calculate when'he will require to reduce the temperature of tho cream from day to day. When the ripening has reached a certain ertago tho butter-maker will reduce the temperature of the cream by means of refrigeration to a degree that will leave tho cream at churning temperature tho following morning. Jjor cream-testing 38 per cent of fat, about 42 per cent of acid, is usually considered sufficient. The starter is made by heatin" milk to about 200 deg Falir., and then cooling it down to 65deg and adding more culture, usually about 3 per cent, which has been kept back from the previous day's make. Tho starter, wlhon readv for use, should contain 83 dog of acid by the alkaline test. If it us weaker than this, more culture should be used, or, if stronger, less culture. It is not advisable to keep tiio came 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. "Whon. about to commence churning fill tho ohurii about one-third full, or just sufficient cream so that when it swells it will not fill the churn full. The rxr-oer terrberature for churning cream is from 48deg to SOdeg in. th© summer time, and from 54deg to 56deg in the winter. After the ohurn has been going for three minutee etop it and remove the plug to allow the gas to escape, and again in ten minutes. After die churn hns been going for about an hour the partly-churned cream will be seen to leave the glass. Stop it and add just enough chilled water eo that the butter-milk will be ready to dram 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 it is lower than th© tern-

peraturo of tho creani. The cream eiiould be churned till the granules of butter are about the aizo of a grain of wheat. If too much water has been added tho butter will take too long to come, and it will cause the texture to be greasy; if too little water hae been added the granules will be very uneven in size and the butter-milk will not separate from the butter 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 has been added to float the butter, give tho churn 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 butter-milk. 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 churn. As soon as the wash water has drained off the churn, tho salt is put in, usually at the rate of about Gib of salt to 1001 b of butter. As the Halt is being put on tho butter is turned by swinging the churn so as to get it evenly distributed. A small quantity of preservative—usually Jib to 201 b of salt—ie mixed with the salt to assist the keeping qualities of the butter. Tho 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 a& 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 not showany * ".es or crevices in it. but will be

a solid, compact mass throughoak Tfcii boxes should be clea.n and tidy, and! free from any greasy spots or dirtjf marks). In butter-making the mains. point to be borne in mind is cleanliness from the cow to the manufactured arti* cle, and the dairymen and butter* makers of New Zealand should work <**•; gether. and endeavour to turn, out au article that will realise the highest) price in the leading butter m»rk«t» olf the world.