Well cared for cows provide the sweetest milk for the best-tasting butter.  Regardless of the breed of cow, a happy cow fed sufficient pasturage along with grains will produce a sufficient amount of milk for drinking, cooking and butter-making.

 Prior to milking, the cow’s bag should be washed and dried and the collection pail should be cleaned and dried.  Milking should be performed in a cheery manner in order to allow the cow to relax and give the most output. 

 All utensils necessary for dairy work should be spotlessly clean in order to maintain the purity of the butter and the sweet flavor.  The milk should be strained into pans quickly and left in a cool place to allow the cream to rise, about 24 hours.  Several days worth of cream can be combined before churning begins.  In order to preserve the grain of the milk, or the butter-globule, slow churning is preferable.  The swing churn with its hand crank has nearly replaced the butter churn with its dash.  Regardless of the method, churning should take 40-50 minutes of constant motion to transform the sweet cream into solid butter.

 Rinsing the mass is equally important and can be carried out on a long wooden board, placed at an incline, using a butter stick (resembles a large wooden spoon 3 inches in diameter, almost flat) to turn and mix the butter while clean, cool water is poured over it.  The buttermilk can be funneled into a bowl for other uses.  It is necessary to rinse all buttermilk from the butter.  Using this same method of mixing with a butter stick, an ounce of salt for every pound of butter can be added.  After rinsed and salted, the butter is ready to be formed into molds and wrapped in paper, pats or stored in jars.