Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers

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. A Pickle for Butter. To three gallons of water, add four and a half pounds of good brown sugar, one and a half ounces of saltpetre, one ounce of salaeratus; put them into an iron pot, and let them come to a boil; take off the scum; when cold it is ready for use; the butter should be salted in the usual way, and well worked; then made into rolls of two or three pounds each; have little bags of coarse muslin, tie each roll in a bag and put them in a large stone jar or clean firkin; when the pickle is entirely cold, pour it over, and put a plate on the top, with a weight on it to keep the butter under; tie it up close and keep it in a cold place; when a roll is wanted, take it out of the bag, and slice it off for table use. It should be put on little plates, and each covered with a saucer, to exclude the air. If the butter is good when put up in the fall, it will keep till you can get grass butter, in the spring. The jars for this purpose should not have been previously used for pickles.