THE STORY OF MILK TEXT

Frozen pudding, strawberries, bananas, or pineapple, may be added in this way when making any Junket Ice Cream. _Orange Sherbet_ Heat two quarts of milk lukewarm in which has been dissolved two cups of sugar, then add two dissolved Junket Tablets, stir quickly for a minute and pour into freezer can, let it stand ten or fifteen minutes before packing with ice and salt; freeze to a thick mush, then add juice and grated rind of six oranges and continue to freeze. =Raspberry Sherbet= may be made in the same way by substituting for the juice and rind of oranges one quart of crushed and sweetened raspberries, and =Pineapple Sherbet= by substituting two cups of grated and sweetened pineapple. _Custard Ice Cream_ When cream is scarce many housekeepers substitute a mixture of eggs and milk. The following is a good standard recipe which can be varied by using different fruits and flavors the same as in any of the above combinations. 1 quart milk 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla (more if desired) 2½ cups sugar 1 quart cream (or rich milk) Scald milk, add sugar, then add the well-beaten eggs. Cook until thick, remove from fire and cool. Be careful not to cook too long or it will curdle. Then add the cream and vanilla and freeze. BUTTER As everybody knows, butter is one of the oldest and most important products of the dairy industry and since the middle of the nineteenth century, when science was first applied to it, the art of buttermaking has gradually been developed to a high degree of perfection, while the taste for fine butter has grown apace with its manufacture. Between 1840 and 1850 the large estates in Holstein, then connected with Denmark, were known for their fine dairies and excellent butter, made in a practical way without much attention to the reason for the rules that were gradually worked out. A class of superior dairymaids was educated on these large farms, many of whom were hired by progressive farmers on the Danish islands where an effort was made at that time to introduce better methods of dairying. The practical handicraft of these imported expert dairymaids was supplemented and regulated by the scientific work of Professor Segelcke and his pupils and from the Sixties buttermaking became an art in Denmark which was subjected to the most searching study and improvements. Danish butter soon captured the English market where previously Isigny (from Northern France) and Dutch butter had commanded the highest prices, and Danish sweet butter put up in sealed tin cans also became known all over the world as the only butter that would stand export to the Tropics. In this country Orange County, N.Y., first produced a high-class article and, later, Elgin, Ill., became the center that stood for the top of perfection. Thence the industry soon spread over the middle western states, largely populated by Scandinavian immigrants many of whom were skilled buttermakers, educated in the old countries. Even up to this day it is noticeable that the list of prize winning buttermakers at the National Dairy Shows and other exhibitions is largely made up of Scandinavian names. In Minnesota, for instance, as fine butter is now made as anywhere in the world. _Dairy Butter._—In the early days of the industry butter was made at home on the farm. The milk was set in shallow vessels,—in the Holstein and Danish dairies in wooden tubs 24 inches in diameter placed on the stone or concrete floor in the milk-vault, a cool cellar partly underground,—or in tin pans on the pantry shelf. After 36 to 48 hours the cream was skimmed off with a flat scoop, often both cream and skim milk being sour. About 1860 the deep tin can was introduced, set in cold running water or, where ice was available, in ice water. This was a great improvement over the shallow setting system. It was now possible to raise most of the cream in 24 hours leaving not to exceed ½% butter-fat in the skim milk, and to have both cream and skim milk sweet. _Centrifugal Creaming._—But the climax of perfection was not reached until the separator (see under Cream) was invented about 1879 and cream was raised instantaneously. For a long time it was the object of the manufacturers to produce _power separators_ of larger and larger capacity, handling from 6,000 to 10,000 lbs. of milk an hour. =Co-operative Creameries= were established, taking in 20,000 lbs. of milk and more a day. But in thinly settled sections where the roads were poor it was expensive to haul the milk a long distance to the creamery and _hand separators_ were introduced, each farmer skimming his own milk fresh from the cows and delivering the cream, only, to the creamery. This system has the advantage of leaving the skim milk on the farm in the very best condition for the calves and hogs and of saving time and expenses in transportation. It has the disadvantage that many farmers can hardly be expected to handle all of these separators as skilfully and cleanly as the creamery expert can run his one or few machines, and consequently that the skimming is more or less imperfect—more butter-fat being left in the skim milk and more impurities in the cream than in the whole-milk creamery. But in practice the advantages of the hand separator and cream-gathering system seem to be greater than the disadvantages and it is rapidly taking the place of the whole-milk creameries. _Ripening the Cream._—Butter may be made by churning whole milk, but usually it is made from cream that has been “ripened” or soured by standing for about 10 hours at a temperature of from 65° to 75° F. Modern buttermakers often pasteurize the cream and then add a “starter” to sour it. By preparing the starter with a pure culture of lactic acid bacteria one can get the desired acidity and aroma, and exclude undesirable flavors (as to Pure Cultures and Starters, see under “Bacteria” and “Commercial Buttermilk”). [Illustration: Sanitary Cream Ripener showing coil swung up into cleaning position ] The process of ripening requires considerable skill and attention and is one of the most delicate functions the buttermaker is called upon to perform. In the first place the cream must be faultless, sweet and pure before it is set to ripen, so the buttermaker will have full control of the fermentation. For, if it is already turned or partly fermented, no skill will avail to bring it back to perfection. But with a first class, pure cream the operator has it in his power to turn out perfect butter. In the big western creameries cream is often collected from farms at a distance of a hundred miles or more and in warm weather such cream is likely to arrive at the central plant in more or less advanced condition. It is therefore difficult for the _centralizers_ to make really first-class butter while the “whole-milk creamery” as well as the farmer handling his own milk are in position to control the ripening from the beginning,—starting with pure material and being able to develop the desired flavor and acidity in the cream. After adding the starter to the cream it must be kept at a uniform temperature of 65 to 75° during the ripening process and it must be watched carefully and occasionally stirred gently until the consistency, aroma and acidity are as desired. Then it should be cooled quickly to stop further fermentation and if it is not to be churned at once it should be kept cold until churning time. Usually it is safer to set the cream in the morning and hasten the ripening so it will be completed in the evening rather than to leave it overnight warm. For, if it is finished in the evening, the cream may be cooled and placed in ice water overnight and one is sure to have it in good condition for churning in the morning. But it is quite feasible for the experienced operator to regulate the process so the cream will not be fully ripened in the morning until he is on hand to watch it and see that the process does not go too far. Taste and smell will tell when it is just right, and the _acid test_ may also be applied to determine when to stop the fermentation. An acidity of .5% is usually desired. When the condition is right, chill the cream, cooling it to below 50°—preferably down towards 40°—and leave it in ice water or in the refrigerator until churning time; then temper it to the proper temperature for churning. Even if it is to be churned soon after the ripening is completed it is best to chill it and then raise the temperature to the point wanted for churning. This gives a better “grain” and “body” to the butter than if the ripened cream is just cooled to the churning temperature, and is especially desirable when the cream has been pasteurized. [Illustration: Branch of the Annatto tree ] =Coloring.=—When the cream is ready it is poured into the churn and a little butter color is added. Some people prefer butter very light or even uncolored, but usually 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls of a standard butter color[5] to 10 gallons of cream will be found right, varying according to the season and the breed of cows furnishing the milk. The butter-fat in Guernsey and Jersey milk is naturally highly colored, while that in Holstein milk is comparatively white. When the cows are on fresh pasture in the early summer the butter-fat is more highly colored than when they are on dry food. The amount of coloring to be added to the cream is regulated to overcome such variations and make the butter of uniform color all the year round. [Illustration: Adding the butter color ] =Churning.=—Hundreds of varieties of churns have been constructed from time to time; 2,000 years ago Pliny described the old dash churn much the same as still occasionally used on the farm, and the principle involved in the process has not been changed. The object is to make the fat globules conglomerate into grains that can be collected and leave as little butter-fat as possible in the buttermilk. [Illustration: Old Arabian churn made out of the skin of a goat ] [Illustration: Ancient churn ] [Illustration: Danish churn ] The best temperature for churning varies from 48° to 56° and must be determined by local conditions and experience. To allow plenty of room for the cream to shake about, the churn should not be much more than half full. When the globules of fat suspended in the milk stick together and form granules as large as good sized pin-heads it is time to stop the churn and drain off the buttermilk. If the butter fails to “come” in half an hour or forty minutes it may be because the cream in the churn is too warm or too cold. A little cold or warm water, as the case may be, can be added as a simple remedy. [Illustration: Churning room in a large modern creamery ] Toward the end of the process care must be taken that the churn is stopped at the right moment, when the butter will separate clear from the buttermilk. After the buttermilk is drawn off pure cold water is poured into the churn and the butter granules are rinsed in it. This water again is drawn off and fresh cold water put in. [Illustration: Butter worker ] =Working the Butter.=—The butter can now be taken out with a sieve and worked on the butter-worker, or it may be worked in the churn. “Working” the butter consists in squeezing out the buttermilk and kneading the butter into a smooth but not “greasy” mass. If it is too warm and if it is worked too much, with a sliding motion instead of just pressing, the butter is apt to become greasy. If there seems to be any danger of greasiness, it is better to stop and put the butter in a cool place for a few hours to recover its elasticity. The working can then be finished safely. =Salting.=—During this working process salt is added and thoroughly distributed and worked in. About half an ounce of salt is used for a pound of butter. =Composition of Butter.=—When finished, the butter ought not to contain more than 12% to 15% of water, and there should be at least 80% of butter-fat. If all the butter-fat originally in the milk could be taken out in the butter, 100 lbs. of 4% milk should yield 4.88% (4.88 lbs.) of butter with 82% butter-fat. But a little is lost in the skim milk and more in the buttermilk, which usually contains ½% fat, so that about 4½ lbs. is all the butter that can be expected from 100 lbs. of milk. =Overrun.=—Creamery men are much interested in the “Overrun” which means the increase from the churn over the amount of fat in the milk. For instance, if a quantity of milk containing 100 lbs. butter-fat as shown by the Babcock Test produces 114 lbs. of finished butter, the overrun is 14%. The buttermaker who gets the largest overrun by reducing the loss of butter-fat in the skim milk and the buttermilk to a minimum, keeping the percentage of water in the butter just below 16%, and yet producing high scoring butter, is considered most efficient. =Packing.=—For the market, butter is packed in tubs or stone jars. Or it is molded in neat one-pound bricks and wrapped in parchment paper. =Sweet Butter.=—Real “sweet” butter is churned from fresh, sweet, unsoured cream. But usually the name is given to the _unsalted_ and _uncolored_ butter that many people relish. Without the salt it does not keep as well as ordinary butter, and must be eaten quite fresh. Well-made salted butter will keep for months with ordinary care, and in cold storage it may be kept a year. But when it comes out of cold storage it must be used within a few weeks, for butter, like other cold storage foods, will soon spoil and become rancid when it is exposed to a higher temperature for any length of time. =Renovated Butter.=—Butter that has become old and rancid can be “renovated.” The butter is melted and the butter-oil washed,—aërated in the renovating plants,—and then churned with fine-flavored sour skim milk. From the sour skim milk it gets back its old butter flavor. The granular physical consistency of fresh butter is gained by pouring the emulsified mixture over cracked ice or into ice water. By the time the excess of “buttermilk” has been removed by working, and salt has been mixed in, the renovated butter may be almost as good as fresh creamery butter. =Oleomargarine= or =Butterine= is made in much the same way. A mixture of beef-fat (the soft part of beef-tallow) and lard and cottonseed oil is churned with sour milk and worked and granulated like renovated butter. For the better grades, some of the finest creamery butter is mixed with it, so that the mixture can hardly be distinguished from real butter. =Coco-butter=, =Nut-butter=, etc., in great variety, are now also on the market as substitutes for butter, all prepared in a similar way, but lacking the vital unknown element that makes genuine butter so superior to substitutes. BUTTERMILK If the cream has been carefully ripened, with or without a pure culture starter, and it has shown the proper sourness when churned, the buttermilk will be of a pleasing taste and flavor. Its thickness will of course depend upon the amount of water, if any, added to the cream in the churn during the buttermaking. If the buttermilk is to be used for human food care must be taken not to dilute it too much. =Cooling Essential.=—If buttermilk is left to stand for hours in a warm room, fermentation goes on and may soon spoil the buttermilk by making it sloppy or bitter. It should therefore be cooled at once when drawn from the churn; if kept in ice water it may remain in fine flavor for several days. Well taken care of it is not only a pleasing and refreshing drink but eminently healthful. In cooking, too, it can be used to advantage. =Commercial Buttermilk= or =Cultured Milk= is simply carefully soured milk. It can be made at home from fresh milk either whole or skimmed or partly skimmed. Partially skimmed milk containing from 1% to 2% butter-fat is plenty rich enough and even better for most purposes than whole milk. The essential qualities of good buttermilk depend upon the proper ripening of the cream or milk, the development of a pure “breed” of healthful bacteria in a clean field free from weeds. Such a plantation or “culture” may be grown in milk as well as in cream. Its function is to turn the sugar of milk into lactic acid under the development of pleasing flavors and whether the butter-fat is removed by the separator or by churning makes little difference. In natural buttermilk there is always a little butter-fat—at least ½%—left, mostly in the form of fine granules, too small to be retained in the butter. If the same amount of butter-fat is left in skim milk and that is ripened and churned, the product will be identically the same as natural buttermilk from ripened cream. =Ripening.=—For best result the milk should be pasteurized, not necessarily as thoroughly as for starters, but sufficiently so as to destroy all obnoxious bacteria and give those introduced through a pure culture starter a chance to grow. Buttermilk may, however, also be made from good, clean, unpasteurized milk of good flavor. Whether pasteurized or not the milk is set to ripen with from 5 to 10% starter at a temperature of from 65 to 75°. The preparation of starters is described under “Bacteria” and the ripening of the milk for “buttermilk” is essentially the same process (see also under _Ripening_ of cream for butter). When ripened to the desired acidity,—say .5% to .6% by the acid test,—stop further fermentation by thorough cooling. =Breaking up the Curd.=—After cooling, the ripened milk may be broken up fine and if vigorously shaken or “churned” it will remain smooth and creamy. Otherwise it may separate into curd and whey. If churned long enough for the butter to form, it becomes absolutely identical with real buttermilk. But, for all practical purposes, a vigorous shaking for a few minutes is enough. =Thick Milk.=—“Thick Milk” as eaten in Scandinavia is made in the same way as commercial buttermilk, except that the milk—rich whole milk—is set to ripen in the bowl in which it is to be served. Instead of being churned or stirred, it is left thick, to be served as a pudding, like Junket made from sweet milk. The rich layer of cream that forms on top is excellent. “Thick Milk” is eaten plain with the oatmeal for breakfast, or as a dessert with grated stale bread and sugar spread over it. The uses of buttermilk in making pancakes and for many other culinary purposes are mentioned in the chapter on “Milk Cookery.” [Illustration: Dr. Elie Metchnikoff, author of “The Prolongation of Life” ] =Yoghourt= or =Bulgarian Sour Milk= is prepared with a culture of bacteria originally found in Bulgaria where Metchnikoff, the late director of the Pasteur Institute of Paris, found people living to exceptional old age which he ascribed to the fact that their principal diet is sour milk of very high acidity. The theory is that a luxurious growth of lactic acid bacilli, acting as a germicide, destroys other fermentations in the lower intestines. The bacilli active in Yoghourt require a somewhat higher temperature for their best growth than the lactic acid bacilli predominant in sour cream for the finest butter, a fact which must be taken into consideration in preparing the various products. FERMENTED MILK In the preparation of Koumis, Kefir and other fermented milks of the same class, Yeast plays an important part, changing some of the milk-sugar into the alcohol which is found in these preparations in quantities up to 2%. [Illustration: Baba Vasilka, 126 years old and her son, Tudor, 101; Bulgarian peasants whose principal food has been sour milk all their lives ] =Koumis= was first made from mare’s milk by the Tartars, but is now prepared in this country from cow’s milk by the addition of sugar and yeast. As carbonic acid is developed in the process it is quite