THE DIARY .

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 12 June 1914, Page 7

THE DIARY .

CONTROL OF WATER IN BUTTER

IMPORTANCE of WATER CONTROL

First of all it is necessary to know how to control the water in butter in order to keep within the limits of thte law which classes' butter as adulterated when it contains 16 per cent, or more of water. That there is a danger of exceeding this limit is evinced by the number of penalties . which buttermakers have been obliged to pay in recent years. There is also a great deal of butter on the market which is unnecessarily low in water content. This means a reduced yield in butter, and consequently places the manufacturers of such butter at a disadvantage with competitors who are obtaining normal yields. Finally it is necessary to understand the means of controlling water in order that uniformity may be secured with respect to this constituent of butter. THE BIJTTERMAKER'S LIMIT. While 16 per cent, water is legally approachable, the butter maker, to be on the safe side, should make 15 \ per cent, his limit. To allow one per cent, latitude for possible inaccura- | cies in making water determinations |is manifestly the least that can possibly be allowed. Buttermakers who are striving to run the water content up to within one-half or onequarter per cent, of the legal limit are constantly in danger of falling into the clutches of the law. FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE WATER CONTENT OF BUTTER. Temperature.—This is the main factor in the control of moisture in butter. A temperature which keeps the butter-fat in a soft, plastic condition during churning and working favours the retention of water in butter. The temperature, however, must never be so hi'.h as to injure the texture of the butter, or to cause an undue loss of fat in the buttermilk. Size of Granules.—As a rule, the larger the butter granules the more water will be retained in the butter. The size of the granules should be I limited to that cf a pea, because j larger granules will make it difficult Ito properly wash the butter and distribute the salt. Amount of Working.—When bntter ,is worked in the presence of little j moisture, the water content decreases with the amount of working. On the other hand, it has been shown that when butter is worked with considerable water present in the eihhirn, the water content may ho, actually increased by continued wording. Overworking must be carefully avoided. Time Between. Workings.—The shorter the time between the workings the higher the water content. The highest water content is secured by working butter only once. Amount of Salt. —It has long beeT, ! I'nown that salt expels moisture fron: j butter. The more salt used, therefore i the smaller amount of water retain ed in the butter. Richness of Cream. —Rich cream which churns into flaky, irregnlai granules, tonds to increase the watel content of butter. Amount of Cream in Churn.— Large churnings are more conducive ' to high water content than small. j Dry and Wet Salt.—The moister the • salt when applied to the butter the ; less water it will expel. j Composition of Butter-fat. —This j may be considered as exerting an mii direct influence upon the water coni tent of butter. Feeds, breeds, and i period of lactation, for example, j change the proportion of soft and | hard fats in butter-fat, ami thereI fore have an influence upon the? ; churning temperature of cream. Butj ter from stable-fed cows receiving | feeds like cotton-seed meal, which I produces a hard butter-fat, may be i perfectly normal i-n water content, while butter from the same cows feeding upon pasture (yielding a relatively soft butter-fat) may be overloaded with water, if the same churning and working temperature is employed in both cases. The author recalls several' cases where buttermakers have exceeded thi legal limit for water in butter. These occurred in the spring while the cows were being changed from dry feed to pasture. It is possihlo that the buttermakers in these instances failed to change the churning temperature to meet the changed conditions as to feed. The lactation period may also have exerted some influence in these cases, since it is possible that many of the cows freshened during the transition neriad from dry feed to pasture.—From "Creamery Butter-making."