To Cure Butter that will keep for a Length of Time.
Reduce separately to a fine powder two pounds of the best fine salt, one pound of loaf sugar and half a pound of saltpetre. Sift these ingredients one above another, on a large sized sheet of paper, then mix them well together, keep this mixture covered up close in a nice jar,
and placed in a dry closet.
When your butter is worked and salted in the usual way, and ready to put in the jars, use one ounce of this composition to every pound of butter, work it well into the mass.
Butter cured in this way, (it is said) will keep good for several years. I have never kept it longer than from the fall until late in the spring, it was then very sweet and good.
It will not do to use for a month, because earlier, the salts will not be sufficiently blended with it. It should be kept in wooden vessels, or nice stone jars. Earthen-ware jars are not suitable for butter, as during the decomposition of the salts, they corrode the glazing; and the butter becomes rancid and unhealthy.
A friend of mine, and a lady of much experience, remarked on reading the above--"This is an admirable receipt, and by attention to its directions, butter may be packed away with success even in the summer months. Thus in cities during warm weather butter is often cheap, a house-keeper may then purchase her winter supply.
"Select that which is sweetest and most firm, begin by putting a layer of the prints in the bottom of a stone pot, press the butter down close, so that no cavities for the admission of air may remain, then strew more of the mixture over it, proceed in this manner until the vessel is filled, when put on the top a small muslin bag filled with salt, and tie the jar up close. It is very important to keep the butter in a cool place."
A great deal depends on the butter being well worked. Persons that have large dairies should always have a machine to work it. A large churning may be more effectually cleared of the butter-milk in a few minutes, than in the old way in an hour. By doing it quickly, it does not get
soft and oily in hot weather.
Reduce separately to a fine powder two pounds of the best fine salt, one pound of loaf sugar and half a pound of saltpetre. Sift these ingredients one above another, on a large sized sheet of paper, then mix them well together, keep this mixture covered up close in a nice jar,
and placed in a dry closet.
When your butter is worked and salted in the usual way, and ready to put in the jars, use one ounce of this composition to every pound of butter, work it well into the mass.
Butter cured in this way, (it is said) will keep good for several years. I have never kept it longer than from the fall until late in the spring, it was then very sweet and good.
It will not do to use for a month, because earlier, the salts will not be sufficiently blended with it. It should be kept in wooden vessels, or nice stone jars. Earthen-ware jars are not suitable for butter, as during the decomposition of the salts, they corrode the glazing; and the butter becomes rancid and unhealthy.
A friend of mine, and a lady of much experience, remarked on reading the above--"This is an admirable receipt, and by attention to its directions, butter may be packed away with success even in the summer months. Thus in cities during warm weather butter is often cheap, a house-keeper may then purchase her winter supply.
"Select that which is sweetest and most firm, begin by putting a layer of the prints in the bottom of a stone pot, press the butter down close, so that no cavities for the admission of air may remain, then strew more of the mixture over it, proceed in this manner until the vessel is filled, when put on the top a small muslin bag filled with salt, and tie the jar up close. It is very important to keep the butter in a cool place."
A great deal depends on the butter being well worked. Persons that have large dairies should always have a machine to work it. A large churning may be more effectually cleared of the butter-milk in a few minutes, than in the old way in an hour. By doing it quickly, it does not get
soft and oily in hot weather.
