Chapter 36

TO STERILIZE MILK TO KEEP.--This is a somewhat more difficult operation, but it may be done by boiling milk sealed in very strong bottles in a saturated solution of salt. The milk used should be perfectly fresh. It is best, when possible, to draw the milk from the cow directly into the bottles. Fill the bottles to within two inches of the top, cork them immediately and wire the corks down firmly and place them in the cold salt solution. Boil fifteen minutes or half an hour. Allow the solution to cool before removing them. If the bottles are removed from the solution while hot, they will almost instantly break. When cold, remove the bottles, and cover the tops with sealing wax. Store in a cool place, shake thoroughly once or twice a week. Milk sterilized in this manner will keep indefinitely.

CONDENSED MILK.--Condensed milk is made by evaporating milk in a vacuum to one fifth its original volume; it is then canned like any other food by sealing at boiling temperature in air-tight cans. When used, it should be diluted with five times its bulk of warm water.

Condensed milk, when not thoroughly boiled in the process of condensation, is liable to harbor disease-germs the same as any other milk.

CREAM.

Cream varies in composition according to the circumstances under which it rises.

The composition of an average specimen as given by Letherby is:--

Nitrogenous matter............................................ 2.7 Fat.......................................................... 26.7 Sugar of milk................................................. 2.8 Mineral matter................................................ 1.8 Water........................................................ 66.0

In the process of churning; the membranes of casein which surround each of the little globules constituting the cream are broken, and the fat of which they are composed becomes a compact mass known as butter. The watery looking residue containing casein, sugar of milk, mineral matter, and a small proportion of fat, comprises the buttermilk.

Skim-milk, or milk from which the cream has been removed, and buttermilk are analogous in chemical composition.

The composition of each, according to Dr. Edward Smith, is:--

SKIM-MILK

Nitrogenous matter......................................... 4.0 Sugar...................................................... 3.8 Fat........................................................ 1.8 Mineral matter............................................. 0.8 Water......................................................88.0

BUTTERMILK

Nitrogenous matter..........................................4.1 Sugar.......................................................3.6 Fat.........................................................0.7 Mineral matter..............................................0.8 Water......................................................88.0

Skim-milk and buttermilk, when the butter is made from sweet cream and taken fresh, are both excellent foods, although lacking the fat of new milk.

Cream is more easily digested than butter, and since it contains other elements besides fat, is likewise more nutritious. In cream the fat is held in the form of an emulsion which allows it to mingle freely with water. As previously stated, each atom of fat is surrounded with a film of casein. The gastric juice has no more power to digest casein than it has free fat, and the little particles of fat thus protected are carried to the small intestines, where the pancreatic juice digests them, and on their way they do not interfere with the stomach digestion of other foods, as the presence of butter and other free fats may do.

It is because of its greater wholesomeness that in the directions for the preparation of foods given in this work we have given preference to the use of cream over that of butter and other free fats. The usual objection to its use is its expense, and the difficulty of obtaining it from city dealers. The law of supply and cost generally corresponds with that of demand, and doubtless cream would prove no exception if its use were more general.

Cream may be sterilized and preserved in a pure state for some time, the same as milk.

Milk requires especial care to secure a good quality and quantity of cream. Scrupulous cleanliness, good ventilation, and an unvarying temperature are absolute essentials. The common custom of setting milk in pans is objectionable, not only because of the dust and germs always liable to fall into the milk, but also from the difficulty of keeping milk thus set at the proper temperature for cream-rising. Every family using milk in any quantity ought to have a set of creameries of large or small capacity according to circumstances, in which the milk supply can be kept in a pure, wholesome condition, and so arranged as to facilitate the full rising of the cream if desired. A very simple and satisfactory creamery, with space for ice around the milk, similar to that represented in the accompanying cut, may be constructed by any tinman.

The plan of scalding milk to facilitate the rising of the cream is excellent, as it not only secures a more speedy rising, but serves to destroy the germs found in the milk, thus lessening its tendency to sour. The best way to do this is to heat the milk in a double boiler, or a dish set inside another containing hot water, to a temperature of 150° to 165°F. as indicated by wrinkles upon its surface. The milk must not, however, be allowed to come to a boil. When scalded, it should be cooled at once to a temperature of about 60° F. and kept thus during the rising of the cream.

BUTTER.

Of all foods wholly composed of fat, good fresh butter is the most wholesome. It should, however, be used unmelted and taken in a finely divided state, and only in very moderate quantities. If exposed to great heat, as on hot buttered toast, meats, rich pastry, etc., it is quite indigestible. We do not recommend its use either for the table or for cooking purposes when cream can be obtained, since butter is rarely found in so pure a state that it is not undergoing more or less decomposition, depending upon its age and the amount of casein retained in the butter through the carelessness of the manufacturer.

Casein, on exposure to air in a moist state, rapidly changes into a ferment, which, acting upon the fatty matter of the butter, produces rancidity, rendering the butter more or less unwholesome. Poor, tainted, or rancid butter should not be used as food in any form.

Good butter is pale yellow, uniform throughout the whole mass, and free from rancid taste or odor. White lumps in it are due to the incorporation of sour milk with the cream from which it was produced. A watery, milk-like fluid exuding from the freshly cut surface of butter, is evidence that insufficient care was taken to wash out all the buttermilk, thus increasing its liability to spoil.

The flavor and color of butter vary considerably, according to the breed and food of the animal from which the milk was obtained. An artificial color is often given to butter by the use of a preparation of annatto.

Both salt and saltpeter are employed as preservatives for butter; a large quantity of the former is often used to increase the weight of the butter.

ARTIFICIAL BUTTER.--Various fraudulent preparations are sold as butter. Oleomargarine, one of the commonest, is made from tallow or beef-fat, cleaned and ground like sausage, and heated, to separate the oil from the membranes. It is then known as "butter-oil," is salted, cooled, pressed, and churned in milk, colored with annatto, and treated the same as butter. Butterine, another artificial product, is prepared by mixing butter-oil and a similar oil obtained from lard, then churning them with milk.

An eminent analyst gives the following excellent way of distinguishing genuine butter from oleomargarine:--"When true butter is heated over a clear flame, it 'browns' and gives out a pleasant odor,--that of browned butter. In heating there is more or less sputtering, caused by minute particles of water retained in washing the butter. On the bottom of the pan or vessel in which true butter is heated, a yellowish-brown crust is formed, consisting of roasted or toasted casein. When oleomargarine is heated under similar circumstances, it does not 'brown,' but becomes darker by overheating, and when heated to dryness, gives off a grayish steam, smelling of tallow. There is no 'sputtering' when it is being heated, but it boils easily. If a pledget of cotton or a wick saturated with oleomargarine be set on fire and allowed to burn a few moments before being extinguished, it will give out fumes which are very characteristic, smelling strongly of tallow, while true butter behaves very differently."

BUTTER IN ANCIENT TIMES.--Two kinds of butter seem to have been known to the ancient Jews, one quite like that of the present day, except that it was boiled after churning, so that it became in that warm climate practically an oil; the other, a sort of curdled milk. The juice of the Jerusalem artichoke was mixed with the milk, when it was churned until a sort of curd was separated. The Oriental method of churning was by putting the milk into a goat-skin and swinging and shaking the bag until the butter came, as illustrated in the accompanying cut.

An article still sold as butter in Athens is made by boiling the milk of goats, allowing it to sour, and then churning in a goat-skin. The result is a thick, white, foamy substance appearing more like cream than butter.

BUTTER-MAKING.--The manufacture of good butter is dependent upon good cows and the care given them, as well as most careful treatment of the milk and cream. The milk to be used for butter making, as indeed for all purposes, should be most carefully strained through a wire strainer covered with three or four thicknesses of perfectly clean cheese cloth.

The following points given by an experienced dairyman will be found worthy of consideration by all who have to do with the manufacture of this article:--

"Milk is almost as sensitive to atmospheric changes as mercury itself. It is a question among many as to what depth milk should be set to get the most cream. It does not make so much difference as to the depth as it does the protection of the milk from acid or souring. As soon as the milk begins to sour, the cream ceases to rise.

"With a clear, dry atmosphere the cream will rise clean in the milk; but in that condition of the atmosphere which readily sours the milk, the cream will not rise clean, but seems to hang in the milk, and this even when the milk is protected by being set in water.

"The benefit of setting milk in cold water is that the water protects the milk from becoming acid until the cream has time to rise. For cream to rise readily on milk set in cold water, the atmosphere in the room should be warmer than the water. As much cream will rise on milk set in cold water in one hour as on milk not set in water in twenty-four hours. The milk should be skimmed while sweet, and the cream thoroughly stirred at each skimming.

"Cream skimmed from different milkings, if churned at the same time in one churn, should be mixed eight to ten hours before churning; then the cream will all come alike.

"The keeping qualities of butter depend principally upon two things: First, the buttermilk must be all gotten out; and secondly, the grain of the butter should be kept as perfect as possible. Butter should not be allowed to be churned after it has fairly come, and should not be gathered compactly in the churn in taking out, but the buttermilk should be drained from the butter in the churn, through a hair sieve, letting the butter remain in the churn. Then take water and turn it upon the butter with sufficient force to pass through the butter, and in sufficient quantity to rinse the buttermilk all out of the butter. With this process of washing the butter the grain is not injured or mashed, and is thus far kept perfect. And in working in the salt the ladle or roll or worker, whatever it is, should never be allowed to slip on the butter,--if it does, it will destroy the grain,--but it should go upon the butter in a pressing or rolling motion."

Test the temperature of the cream with a thermometer, and churn it at 60° in summer and 62° in winter. If the butter is soft, it may be hardened by pouring onto it while working a brine made by dissolving a pint of salt in ten quarts of water. The salt used in the butter should be carefully measured, three fourths of an ounce of salt to the pound being the usual allowance.

Butter, like milk, absorbs odors readily, and should never be allowed to remain in occupied rooms or any place exposed to strong or foul odors, but be kept covered in a cold place.

CHEESE.

Cheese is a product of milk prepared by separating the casein, with more or less of the cream, according to the manner in which it has been prepared, from the other ingredients of the milk. It is an article, which, although possessing a large proportion, of nutritive material, is very difficult of digestion, and the use of which is very questionable, not only for this reason, but because it is very liable to contain a poison called tyrotoxicon, capable of producing most violent and indeed fatal results, according to the remarkable researches of Prof. Vaughan of Michigan University. This poison is sometimes found in ice cream and custards, cream-puffs, etc., made from stale milk or cream.

It is much better to use milk in its fresh, natural state than in any of its products. Made into either butter or cheese, we lose some of its essential elements, so that what is left is not a perfect food.

_RECIPES_

HOT MILK.--Milk is more easily digested when used hot. This is not due to any marked chemical change in the milk, but to the stimulating effect of heat upon the palate and stomach.

To prepare hot milk, heat it in a double boiler until a wrinkled skin appears upon the surface. In the double boiler it may be kept at the proper temperature for a long time without difficulty, and thus prepared, it forms one of the most healthful of foods.

Milk, either cold or hot, should be taken a few sips only at a time, and not be drank in copious draughts when used in connection with other foods at mealtime. It will then coagulate in the stomach in small flakes much more easily digested than the large mass resulting when a large quantity is swallowed at a time.

DEVONSHIRE OR CLOTTED CREAM.--This is prepared as follows: Strain the milk as it comes fresh from the cow into a deep pan which will fit tightly over a kettle in which water can be boiled, and set away in a cool well-ventilated place, where it should be allowed to remain undisturbed from eight to twelve hours or longer. Then take the pan up very carefully so as not to disturb the cream, place over a kettle of water, heat to near the boiling point, or until a rim of bubbles half an inch wide forms all around the dish of milk. It must not, however, be allowed to boil, or the cream will be injured. Now lift the pan again with equal care back to a cool place and allow it to stand from twelve to twenty-four hours longer. The cream should be a compact mass of considerable thickness, and may be divided with a knife into squares of convenient size before skimming. It is delicious for use on fruit and grains.

COTTAGE CHEESE.--This dish is usually prepared from milk which has curdled from lack of proper care, or from long standing exposed to the air, and which is thus in some degree decomposing. But the fact that the casein of the milk is coagulated by the use of acids makes it possible to prepare this dish in a more wholesome manner without waiting for decomposition of the milk. Add to each four quarts of milk one cupful of lemon juice; let it stand until coagulated, then heat slowly, but do not boil, until the curd has entirely separated from the whey. Turn the whole into a colander lined with a square of clean cheese cloth, and drain off the whey. Add to the curd a little salt and cream, mix all together with a spoon or the hands, and form into cakes or balls for the table. The use of lemon gives a delicious flavor, which may be intensified, if desired, by using a trifle of the grated yellow rind.

COTTAGE CHEESE FROM BUTTERMILK.--Place a pail of fresh buttermilk in a kettle of boiling water, taking care to have sufficient water to come up even with the milk in the pail. Let the buttermilk remain until it is heated throughout to about 140°, which can be determined by keeping a thermometer in the milk and stirring it frequently. When it is sufficiently heated, empty the curd into strong muslin bags and hang up to drain for several hours. If properly scalded and drained, the curd will be quite dry and may be seasoned and served the same as other cottage cheese. If scalded too much, it will be watery.

COTTAGE CHEESE WITH SOUR MILK.--Take a pan of newly-loppered thick sour milk, and place it over a kettle of boiling water until the whey separates from the curd, breaking and cutting the curd as the milk becomes warmed, so as to allow the whey to settle. The milk should be well scalded, but not allowed to boil, as that will render the curd tough and leathery. Have ready a clean piece of cheese cloth spread inside a colander, dip the curd into it, and leave it to drain. If preferred, the corners of the cloth may be tied with a string, thus forming a bag in which the cheese may be hung up to drain. When well drained, remove the dry curd to a dish, rub it fine with the hands, add salt, and season with sweet cream, beating it well through the curd with a silver fork. It may be shaped into balls with the hands or pressed in large cups or bowls.

FRENCH BUTTER.--Fill a large, wide-mouthed glass bottle or jar about half full of thick sweet cream. Cork tightly, and with one end of the bottle in each hand shake it vigorously back and forth until the butter has separated from the milk, which it will generally do in a few minutes. Work out the buttermilk, make into small pats, and place on ice until ready to serve. As a rule this butter is not washed or salted, as it is intended for immediate use.

SHAKEN MILK.--Fit a conical tin cup closely over a glass of milk and shake it vigorously until all of a foam, after which it should be slowly sipped at once; or a glass of milk may be put into a quart fruit can, the cover tightly screwed on, and then shaken back and forth until the milk is foamy.

EMULSIFIED BUTTER.--Boil the butter with water for half an hour to destroy any germs it may contain; use plenty of water and add the butter to it while cold. When boiled, remove from the fire and allow it to become nearly cold, when the butter will have risen to the top and may be removed with a skimmer, or it may be separated from the water by turning the whole after cooling into a clean strainer cloth placed inside a colander. The butter may be pressed in the cloth if any water still remains. If hardened, reheat just sufficient to soften, and add to it, while still liquid, but cooled to about blood heat, the yolk of one egg for each tablespoonful of butter, and stir until very thoroughly mingled.

Or, add to each tablespoonful of the liquid butter two level tablespoonfuls of flour, rub together thoroughly, and cook until thickened in a half cupful of boiling water. If cream is not obtainable and butter must be used for seasoning, it is preferable to prepare it in one of the above ways for the purpose, using the quantity given as an equivalent of one cupful of thin cream. It will be evident, however, that these preparations will not only season but thicken whatever they are used in, and that additional liquid should be used on that account.

TABLE TOPICS.

A little six-year-old boy went into the country visiting. About the first thing he got was a bowl of bread and milk. He tasted it, and then hesitated a moment, when his mother asked if he didn't like it; to which he replied, smacking his lips, "Yes, ma'am. I was only wishing that our milkman in town would keep a cow!"

When Horace Greeley was candidate for the presidency, he at one time visited New Orleans, whose old creole residents gave him a dinner; and to make it as fine an affair as possible, each of the many guests was laid under contribution for some of the rarest wines in his cellar. When dinner was announced, and the first course was completed, the waiter appeared at Mr. Greeley's seat with a plate of shrimp. "You can take them away," he said to the waiter, and then added to the horrified French creole gentleman who presided, "I never eat insects of any kind." Later on, soup was served, and at the same time a glass of white wine was placed at Mr. Greeley's right hand. He pushed it quietly away, but not unobserved by the chief host. "Do you not drink wine?" he asked.

"No," answered Mr. Greeley; "I never drink any liquors."

"Is there anything you would like to drink with your soup?" the host then asked, a little disappointed.

"If you've got it," answered Mr. Greeley, "and it isn't any trouble, I'd like a glass of fresh buttermilk."

Said the host afterward in his broken English, "Ze idea of electing to ze presidency a man vot drink buttermilk vis his soup!"

Old friendships are often destroyed by toasted cheese, and hard salted meat has often led to suicide.--_Sydney Smith._

A German sitting beside a Spanish officer on board a Havana steamer, was munching Limberger cheese with evident satisfaction when it occurred to him that he ought to offer some to his neighbor, who very coolly declined. "You think it unhealthful to eat that?" inquired the German in polite astonishment. "_Unhealthful?_" exclaimed the Hidalgo, with a withering look and a gasp for a more adequate word; "No, sir: I think it an unnatural crime!"--_Oswald._

Good for Dyspepsia.--"Really, don't you think cheese is good for dyspepsia?" said an advocate of the use of this common article of food. "Why, my uncle had dyspepsia all his life, and he took a bit of cheese at the close of every meal!"

Mattieu Williams tells us, "When common sense and true sentiment supplant mere unreasoning prejudice, vegetables oils and vegetable fats will largely supplant those of animal origin in every element of our dietary."

EGGS

As will be seen from the analysis given below, an egg is particularly rich in nitrogenous elements. It is indeed one of the most highly concentrated forms of nitrogenous food, about one third of its weight being solid nutriment, and for this reason is often found serviceable in cases of sickness where it is desirable to secure a large amount of nourishment in small bulk.

Composition of the white of an ordinary hen's egg.

Nitrogenous matter..................... 20.4 Fatty matter........................... 10.0 Mineral matter......................... 1.6 Water.................................. 68.0

Composition of the yolk.

Nitrogenous matter..................... 1.0 Fatty matter........................... 30.7 Mineral matter......................... 1.3 Water.................................. 52.0

The white of egg is composed mainly of albumen in a dissolved state, inclosed in layers of thin membrane. When beaten, the membranes are broken, and the liberated albumen, owing to its viscous or glutinous nature, entangles and retains a large amount of air, thus increasing to several times its original bulk.

The yolk contains all the fatty matter, and this, with a modified form of albumen called vitellin, forms a kind of yellow emulsion. It is inclosed in a thin membrane, which separates it from the surrounding white.