Original White House Cookbook

When you skim cream into your cream jar, stir it well into what is already there, so that it may all sour alike; and no fresh cream should be put with it within twelve hours before churning, or the butter will not come quickly; and perhaps, not at all. Butter is indispensable in almost all culinary preparations. Good fresh butter, used in moderation, is easily digested; it is softening, nutritious and fattening, and is far more easily digested than any other of the oleaginous substances sometimes used in its place. (208) TO MAKE BUTTER QUICKLY. Immediately after the cow is milked, strain the milk into clean pans, and set it over a moderate fire until it is scalding hot; do not let it boil; then set it aside; when it is cold, skim off the cream; the milk will still be fit for any ordinary use; when you have enough cream, put it into a clean earthen basin; beat it with a wooden spoon until the butter is made, which will not be long; then take it from the milk and work it with a little cold water, until it is free from milk; then drain off the water, put a small tablespoonful of fine salt to each pound of butter and work it in. A small teaspoonful of fine white sugar, worked in with the salt, will be found an improvement — sugar is a great preservative. Make the butter in a roll; cover it with a bit of muslin and keep it in a cool place. A reliable recipe. A BRINE TO PRESERVE BUTTER. First work your butter into small rolls, wrapping each one carefully in a clean muslin cloth, tying them up with a string. Make a brine, say three gallons, having it strong enough of salt to bear up an egg; add half a teacupful of pure, white sugar, and one tablespoonful of saltpetre; boil the brine, and when cold strain it carefully. Pour it over the rolls so as to more than cover them, as this excludes the air. Place a weight over all to keep the rolls under the surface. PUTTING UP BUTTER TO KEEP. Take of the best pure common salt two quarts, one ounce of white sugar and one of saltpetre; pulverize them together completely. Work the butter well, then thoroughly work in an ounce of this mixture to every pound of butter. The butter is to be made into half-pound rolls, and put into the following brine — to three gallons of brine strong enough to bear an egg, add a quarter of a pound of white sugar. Orange Co., N. Y. Style. CURDS AND CREAM. One gallon of milk will make a moderate dish. Put one spoonful of prepared rennet to each quart of milk, and when you find that it has become curd, tie it loosely in a thin cloth and hang it to drain ; do not wring or press the cloth ; when drained, put the curd into a mug and set in cool water, which must be frequently changed (a refrigerator saves this trouble). When you dish it, if there is whey in the mug, ladle it gently out without pressing the curd ; lay it on a deep dish, and pour fresh cream over it ; have powdered loaf-sugar to eat with it ; also hand the nutmeg grater. Prepared rennet can be had at almost any druggist’s, and at a reasonable price. NEW JERSEY CREAM CHEESE.