PRIZE ESSAY.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8843, 20 June 1907, Page 4

PRIZE ESSAY.

On Butter Waking. Continued from yesterday. BEPABATES'G AND TEMPERA. TUBE. In separating milk in largo emailtitles for butter making the greatest ,carß should be taken "that the separator is skimming clean, as a poor Bkimming separator will waste more cream in one day than a careful but--1 ter maker will save in a week, in starting a separator it is a good plan to slow the engine downbefpre putting the belt on to the tight pulley on the intermediate. Then pull the driving rope with the hand till trie separator gets well going. About one and a half gallons of luke-warm water shoul ; be poured into the bowl so 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 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 bottle till test day, when it should be tested. This composite sample should not vary more than from .03 to .06. Should it be higher than this the separator requires see-, ing to. During the summer mouths when the milk is at the flush and the pastures are fresh the milk should be neated to 85 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 milkshottld.be heated up to 130 Fahr. before separating. The cream, when 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 65 Fahr. when it reaches the

cream vat. As the cream is running into the vat the starter should be added, about three per cent being generally used. The cream should be stirred every 20 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 the butter maker is able to ascertain the acidity ot the cream aud 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 redone the temperature of the cream by moans of refrigeration to a degree that will leave the cream at churning temperature the following morning. For cream testing 88 per cent of fat, about 42 per cent of acid, is usually considered sufficient. The starter is made by heating milk to about 200 degrees Fahr. and then cooling it down to 65 degrees and adding more culture, usually about throe per cent, which has been kept back from the previous day's make. The starter, when ready for use, should contain 85 dogrees of. acid by tho alkaline teat-. If it is weaker than tins, more culture shuld be used or if Stronger lise less culture. It is not advisable to keep the same starter goiug too long as the flavour may not ba sound although it has the proper percentage of acid in it. CHURNING AND WASHING THE BUTTER.

When about to commence churning I fill the chum about one-third full, or just sufficient cream so that when it swells it will not fill the churu I full. The proper temperature for churning cream is from 48 degrees to -50 degrees in the summer time, and from 54 degrees to 56 degrees in the winter. After the churn has been going for three minutes stop it and remove the plug to allow the gas to escape, aud again in ten minutes - After the churn has been going for about an hour the partly churned cream will bo seeu to leave the glass. Stop it aud addjust enough chilled water so that the butter milk will be ready to drain off in ten niiuutes. Tho temperature of the water should )lot be above 40 dergees. Tho higher the temperature of the water the more will be required, always provided that it is low T er than the 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, aud it will cause the testure to be greasy, if too little Water has been added the granules will be very uneven in size and the butter milk will not separate from the butter freely. As soon as tho butter is churned enough the butter milk should be drained off. When commencing to wash the butter have the tap at tho lowest part of the churn. Add chilled water, leaving the tap open till tho water runs out clear. After sufficient water has been added to float the butter, give the churn about six revolutions and then drain tho 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 Zealaud for salting the butter is to salt it before it is taken from the churn. As soon as the wash water has draiued off the churn the salt is put in, usually at the rate of about six pounds of salt to one hundred pounds of butter. As the salt 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 half a pound to twenty pounds 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 tho butter' maker lias 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 tho texture greasy. If it is not worked sufficiently there will bo tos '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 j tho butter the aim should bo to turn 1 out a package with a neat and attractive appearance, thoj correct weight, and one which, when turned out on the counter of the retailer at Homo, will not show any holes or crevices in it, but will be a solid, compact mass throughout. The boxes should ho clean and tkly, and free from any greasy spots or »dirty marks. In butter making the main point to be borne in mind is cleanliness, from the cow to tho manufactured article and tho dairymen and butter makers of Now Zoaland should work together and endeavour to turn out an article that will realiso the highest price in tho leading buttor markets of tho world.