Part 27

Ventilation demands extreme care. “The position of the milk-room with relation to the other rooms of the dairy, as the churning and the cheese-room, and the scalding or washing-room, should be such that air can be admitted on three sides of the room, so as to ensure an equable supply of air all over the interior of the milk-room. The means adopted for ensuring a supply of fresh air by the windows are of very simple character, namely, making each window in halves, the lower and upper halves being hinged to a bar stretching horizontally across the centre of the window frame; the lower half being hinged so that it opens inwards and upwards, the upper half inwards and downwards. By adjusting the opening of the two halves, the fresh air may be admitted in any required volume, and in any direction--upwards towards the ceiling, and downwards towards the floor. For removing the used air, there are many plans. One good suggestion is that the ceiling be made up of narrow fillets so placed that spaces are left throughout the whole surface of ceiling; through these spaces the air passes, into the space between the inner ceiling and the outer roof, in which are placed ventilators with valves, which may be opened and closed as desired. If a ceiling be dispensed with and an open roof adopted, the roof will require to be double, that is, a hollow space between the inner and outer boarding; this will tend to keep the temperature of the dairy more equable, than if the boarding and slates are the only covering. The double roof is simply made by lining the inner side of rafters with inch boarding tongued and grooved. The inner surface of boarding will be all the better if papered with a glazed white paper. The door of the milk-room should be double.” (Darton.)

While efforts are required to keep the milk-room cool in summer, there may be need of warming in winter. The best means of warming is by hot-water pipes. In some dairies the milk pans stand in a series of troughs on an inclined plane, and all inter-communicating; in this way a current of warm water may be made to surround the pans in winter, and of cold water in summer. Gauze coverings should envelop the pans to exclude insects. Milk pans may be made of glass, glazed earthenware, or tinned iron, 15 to 18 in. across, and less than 6 in. deep.

_Devonshire Cream._--The milk should be left in the pan till the cream has sufficiently risen--about 12 hours in summer, and 24 hours in winter. The whole pan must then be placed over a close range or on a stove, and left there till the milk becomes quite hot, when the surface will look thick, and bubbles will appear. Then take the pan back to the dairy, and skim the cream off on the following day. The milk must not be allowed to boil, and it should be heated slowly. The time that it takes to scald the cream will depend upon the heat of the fire, the temperature of the milk, and other circumstances; and it is only by practice that you will learn to know when it is sufficiently done. In Devonshire, celebrated for its clotted cream, the pans are of tin and shallow. They contain 10-12 qt. milk. These, after standing 10-12 hours, are placed on an iron hot-plate, or over a stove, until the cream has formed, which is indicated by the air bubbles rising through the milk, and producing blisters on the surface of the cream; it is then near boiling point, and the pan must be removed at once to a cool place. After some hours the cream is skimmed off with a slice. Milk which is carried from a distance, or much agitated before being put into pans to settle for cream, never throws up so much, nor such rich cream, as if used directly after being milked. The last drawn milk of each milking is at all times richer than the first, and for that reason should be set apart for cream.

_Devonshire Junket._--(_a_) If you cannot get milk from the cow warm, take fresh milk, and put it in the oven, or on a hot stove, until it becomes the same warmth as from the cow. Put a glass of brandy and powdered sugar into it sufficient to sweeten it; add a piece of rennet to the milk, or if you cannot get this use the essence of rennet, which you can buy at the chemist’s. If you have used the former, remove it in a few minutes, and leave the milk to set in solid curd, which it will soon do; then lay over the top of it either very good cream, quite smoothly, or Devonshire cream, or you may whip the cream. The real Devonshire way is to remove cream from the top of a dairy pan in one sheet, and lay it over. Ornament the top with nutmeg.

(_b_) Rub 2 large lumps of sugar on a lemon, put them with 1 pint milk and ½ pint cream in a saucepan, and make warm, but be careful not to let it be hotter than you can hold your finger in. Have ready in a china bowl a small teacupful of brandy, pour the milk and cream into it; suspend a piece of rennet (which you must well wash from all the salt) by a string, and place it in a cool place to set. When turned enough, take it out, pour ½ pint cream on the top, add some powdered cinnamon, and serve.

_Swiss Cream._--This may be made in a mould in the following way, and will be found extremely good. Soak 1 oz. gelatine in cold milk for ½ hour. Steep the rind of 2 lemons in 1½ pint milk with sugar to taste; put it over the fire, but do not let it boil. Bake up the yolks of 5 fresh eggs, and pour the flavoured milk (strained) upon them. Mix well, and then stir over the fire until the custard thickens; add the gelatine, and stir again over the fire without letting it boil until the gelatine is dissolved, then pour it into a basin. Dip a mould in water, ornament it with preserved cherries, when cool pour some of the above cream into it, put a layer of macaroons, previously soaked in a little white wine, another layer of custard, and so on until the mould is quite full. Set it on ice, or in a cool place to set, and when wanted turn it out carefully.

_Butter._--The room where the cream is churned, and the butter made, should be fitted with a table of marble or slate, and shelves for holding the butter.

The yields of cream from milk, and butter from cream, are subject to much variation. The richness of milk differs too at morning and evening. But the average figures are approximately these:--12 qt. of milk should give 1 qt. of cream, and 1 qt. of cream should afford 14 oz. of butter. Morning milk is richer than evening milk, and the last portion drawn from the cow at each milking, is richer than the first. Autumn milk is best for butter, summer milk for cheese.

Milk to be sold fresh as such should be cooled immediately it is drawn from the cow, because while warm and exposed to the air, the sugar present undergoes oxidation with consequent liberation of lactic acid, which is indicated by the milk turning sour. When promptly cooled, milk can be kept sweet and transported without risk, besides which it gives up its cream more readily. The Americans have introduced various coolers, all of which are more or less effective.

As fast as brought in, the milk should be run through a hair sieve. This, and also the vessels with which the milk comes in contact, must be kept scrupulously clean by the aid of constant scalding, to be followed by rinsing with cold water, and drying in the air. The milk is exposed in the pans for varying periods in order that the globules of fat may have an opportunity of separating from the milk and floating on the surface. This process is now very commonly replaced by the use of a hydro-extractor, in which centrifugal action breaks up the milk into cream and “skim milk” without any need for waiting. According to the older practice the milk is left to stand for a considerable time, but no advantage is gained by exceeding 24 hours; in fact the best authorities say that it should be skimmed before the surface begins to look wrinkled, as this appearance is a symptom of incipient putrefaction. Large shallow perforated tin ladles are used for removing the cream, which should be carefully deposited, without splash, in white stoneware jars holding 2 to 12 gal., according to the size of the dairy. Common glazed earthenware is to be avoided on account of injurious chemical action. Skimming should be done twice daily, and each time an addition of cream is made to the jar the whole contents should be well but gently stirred with a stoneware spoon. The jars should be covered with gauze to exclude insects. In some dairies skimming is avoided by the simple plan of having a hole in the bottom of the milk dish by which the milk is drawn off, leaving the cream undisturbed.

Butter consists of the fatty portion of the milk, which is separated by the process known as “churning,” the object of which is to rupture the envelopes which hold the fatty matter. The bulk of this fatty matter resides in the cream. Butter may be “made” by churning either the milk or only the cream; and these may be either in a sweet or sour (“lappered”) state. The most general practice is to churn the cream alone in a lappered condition. For this reason the cream is set to ripen in stoneware jars for several days, averaging about 3 days in summer, and 5 or 6 in winter, preferably with occasional stirring. It is the general opinion that to get the best butter, the operation of churning should be comparatively slow, from ¾ hour to 2 hours--an hour being a fair average, varying, however, according to the season; the operation being much more tedious in winter than in summer. After the butter is separated from the cream, the buttermilk remains, containing the casein, salt, and sugar present in the original cream, though a portion of these is taken up with the butter. The greater the proportion of casein left in the butter, the poorer is the latter in quality, and the more readily will it become rancid.

Commenting on Jenkins’ pamphlet, ‘Hints on Butter-making,’ the _Field_ recently published the following remarks:--

“Cheese-making, owing to American importations, has recently been so unprofitable that there is the more necessity for attention to butter-making. Why should the dairies of France, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden be able to supply an article in our markets which is superior to the bulk of our own make? And why, above all, in the matter of fresh butter, should Normandy be preferred by our large purveyors to the home dairies, were it not that by superior cleanliness and systematic management the quality is more dependable? For instance, we have been told that the manager of the Midland Hotel at Derby obtains all his butter from Normandy, because he finds it more reliable and of better and more uniform quality than English produce, notwithstanding that he lives in the centre of a great dairy district, and that the foreign produce is liable to deterioration by the journey. Here, then, the English farmer has an opportunity which he is very wrong to neglect. Cheese does not pay--at least, such varieties as are usually made; the demand for milk is limited; but good sweet butter will always command a fair and often a very high price. The reasons given by Jenkins for the inferior butter are these: That the milk is not skimmed early enough--often not before a certain amount of sourness has been developed in the milk, and an appreciable amount of curd has therefore become mixed with the cream. It is true that this curd increases the quantity, but it affects the quality; the butter becomes rank, and fetches a low price. Careless skimming, by taking off some of the milk with the cream, causes the same results. Carelessness in churning or in the manipulation of the butter, by which buttermilk and water are left in the butter. It may be that this is sometimes intentional, as more weight is obtained; but the quality is greatly injured. Much handling of the butter in making up is also a source of injury. Dirt in any form, bad smells, unskilful milking, bad food and water given to the cows; bad water, soap, or other noxious substances used in washing the dairy and vessels, are all causes of bad butter which must be guarded against. Temperature being allowed to vary, bad packing, &c., are all elements that require more care than is usually bestowed. As regards the food, Jenkins points out that in a wet season, grass alone cannot be depended on to give a good result--it is too succulent in its nature, and should be modified by the use of 4 lb. of bean meal given to each cow daily; whilst under ordinary circumstances the ration may consist of 2 lb. to 3 lb. of decorticated cotton cake, or 2½ lb. of bran and 2½ lb. of oatmeal, or 3 lb. of oatmeal and 2 lb. of bean meal. And he states, what all who have had experience will confirm, that by the use of such food more cows can be profitably kept, and that a farmer should look upon grass and hay as the most expensive articles of food. Then Jenkins proceeds to describe the process of butter-making adopted in the best districts of Normandy. We shall make no apology for publishing these directions _verbatim_, as we shall thereby assist the society in the dissemination of useful knowledge.

“1. Clean all dairy utensils by rinsing them with clean cold water, and afterwards scrubbing them with boiling water; after which repeat the cold rinsing.

“2. Cool the milk directly it is brought into the dairy by placing the cans in a running stream, or by any other available method. This, we may be permitted to observe, whilst most desirable, is often not easily attainable. The Americans, in selecting the site for the dairy, always prefer the base of a hill, so as to secure two very important factors--shelter from the sun and a cold spring of water. If running water cannot be obtained, that from a deep well may be used.

“3. Set the milk at a temperature of not exceeding 55°F. in glazed earthenware or tin pans. The question of whether these shall be shallow or deep will depend upon our facilities for reducing the temperature. If we have running water or ice, there is no doubt that the deep cans thus surrounded offer a greater surface of milk to the cooling influence, and this rapid and regular cooling causes the cream to rise freely and quickly; but if we have not these facilities, then shallow pans are preferable.

“4. Skim after 12 hours with a perforated tin saucer, and take care that nothing but cream is removed; 12 hours after, skim a second time; but this should not be mixed with the first skimmed cream at all, if our object is to make the finest class of butter; but otherwise it must be mixed with the first cream just before churning. Of course by following this plan we do not obtain the maximum produce, but we have the best quality. If the cream is too thick, a little pure water may be added, but the addition of milk should be avoided.

“5. Keep the cream, until the time for changing, in the coldest place available, in covered earthenware or tin vessels.

“6. Churn the cream at a temperature of 57° to 60° F., and obtain this by gradually raising or lowering the temperature by placing the vessel in a bath of warm or cold water. Use an ordinary revolving barrel, or a midfeather churn, fitted with a spigot. The more simple the churn, and the less mechanism, the more easily is it churned. Thomas and Taylor’s Self-acting Eccentric Churn (Stockport, Cheshire), which gained the first prize at Bristol, is recommended, to be turned at from 50 to 60 revolutions per minute. Stop the churning at once when the butter comes, however small the globules may be. Remove the buttermilk by allowing it to run through a hair sieve, and return any butter globules to the churn.

“7. Work the butter slowly with cold water by half filling the churn, giving it 3 or 4 turns, and then withdrawing the water. Repeat the working until the water comes out clear; this is of great importance. Remove the butter by a pair of wooden patters, and press out the water by passing it under a kneading board, or on a larger scale, by using a revolving butter worker. The board and roller can be obtained for 13_s._ 6_d._, of How, 13, Bishopsgate-street, E.C.; or of T. Bradford and Co., 140, High Holborn. Avoid using the hand.

“8. Make up the butter as is most saleable, and pack it in small packages, lined first with white paper, and then with new and clean muslin previously well rinsed in boiling water and again cooled, &c.”

We often consider the French our inferiors in agricultural matters, but they have built up a position upon butter and cheese which has made two or three departments absolutely wealthy, and they still pursue the system in a most business-like and thrifty manner. We wish we could point to a single English county in which one-half is done with butter that is done in Calvados; but while we are content to grow corn at a loss, and buy our dairy produce at considerably more than we can get it for at home, we shall continue to contribute to the wealth of Normandy and the difficulties which beset the land question at home. Our producers must first break the back of the middleman, and then there will be no such facts existing as the best fresh butter a drug at 11_d._ a lb. in some of our country districts, while it is 1_s._ 10_d._ in London.

Butter, Potting.--The best month of the year in which to pot butter is May, or, at any rate, the business should be completed before the hot weather comes on. If the butter is to be kept for several months, it will be necessary to put a good deal of salt with it; 1 oz. salt to 1 lb. butter will not be found too much. To ensure the proper incorporation of the salt, it is best to add it by small quantities at a time, kneading and re-kneading the butter till the whole is thoroughly mixed. It must then be pressed firmly into wooden tubs, or “kits,” as they are technically called; or stone jars may be used if preferred. It is hardly necessary to add that great care must be taken to have every vessel employed in the preparation as clean and sweet as possible. Another very simple way to preserve butter is to have a good-sized earthenware jar or pan filled with some strong brine, and place it at hand in the dairy. Into the brine put from time to time, as it can be spared, ½ lb. of fresh butter, each piece being folded up separately in thin muslin. The only care required is to be certain that the butter is always thoroughly covered with brine: it will sometimes be necessary to put a weight on the butter, as it has a tendency to rise to the surface when the brine is strong. The butter will keep in this manner for weeks, or even months, and, besides the advantage gained by this plan of being able to take out just as much as is required for use at a time; there is the additional benefit of having preserved fresh butter, as it does not absorb the salt.

Butter, Rancid.--(_a_) Rancid butter may be recovered and sweetened by washing and kneading it well, first in new milk, and afterwards in cold spring water, butyric acid, on which the rancidity depends, being freely soluble in new milk.

(_b_) Let the butter be melted and skimmed as for clarifying; then put into it a piece of bread, well toasted all over. In a minute or two the butter will lose its offensive smell and taste.

(_c_) Beat the butter in a sufficient quantity of water, in which you put 25-30 drops lime chloride to 2 lb. butter. After having mixed it till all its parts are in contact with the water, it may be left in for 1-2 hours, afterwards withdrawn, and washed anew repeatedly in fresh water.

_Cheese._--When milk is curdled, it separates into two portions, curd and whey. The former consists of the butter and casein, and produces cheese; the latter is mainly water, with the sugar and mineral constituents of the milk in solution. Milk for cheese-making, which is more or less rich in cream, according to the kind of cheese, is placed in vats at a temperature varying from about 70° to 85° F., with the due amounts of rennet and colouring matter, for 1-1½ hour under cover. The rennet must be prepared from perfectly fresh (untainted) calves’ veils soaked in soft water--the halves of 1½ veils steeped in ½ gal. water will suffice for 250 lb. of cheese. The best colour is liquid arnatto, ½ fl. oz. to 25 lb. cheese.

As soon as the curd has set, say 1-1½ hour, the curd is “cut” by a special implement and broken up by the hand, a process demanding much skill and care. This completed, the curd is subjected to pressure, with the object of expressing the whey, which latter is drained off. The pressure is increased and judiciously regulated as the curd hardens, so as to remove all the whey without losing any butter. Various appliances are in use for this purpose. When the curd has been thoroughly freed from whey, it is broken up, salted in due proportion, and again submitted to repeated and increasing pressings. Finally it goes into the curing room to ripen.

Rennet.--Rennet is easily made at home, and costs less than half what the same quantity is charged when bought ready-made. Home-made rennet is also much stronger than the bought preparation and is useful in making summer delicacies. Get a calf’s maw from a butcher. They always keep them on hand, and charge about 1_s._ each. Tie the skin tightly at one end, with a double loop of twine, and leave it in a dairy or cool larder. When you want rennet, cut a piece about 1 in. square, and soak it in a teacupful warm water all night. Next day, take out the bit of maw, and to 1 pint cream or milk, use 1 large tablespoonful of the liquid. As a rule, the Gloucestershire cheese-makers do not manufacture their own rennet but buy it ready prepared. The kind generally employed is Hansen’s Patent Rennet Extract, which is used in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful extract to 6 gal. milk.

Cream Cheese.--Take ½ pint very richest cream and a cheese cloth. Pour the cream into the cloth, and lay it upon one of your dairy pans for an hour. Then take a perfectly clean knife and scrape off any cream that may have stuck to the cloth, and lay it on the top and sides of the cheese. Tie it up somewhat loosely, and hang it up to drip; open it from time to time, and remove any cream that has stuck to the cloth, and place it as before. When it stops dripping the cheese is ready, and will turn out easily. The cheese should always be used the same day it is made. In summer a few hours will suffice. If you tell your dairywoman the day before, she will have thicker cream for the cheese by keeping some of the milk that is set for cream 12 hours or more beyond the usual time for ordinary purposes before skimming it. The quantity of cream depends of course on the number of your party; ½ pint is enough for 6-8 people. If the cream be rich and the cheese well made, it will be soft, but without losing its round shape in the least. Though tied up loosely at first, it should be gradually tightened, after being opened from time to time as directed above.