STARTER IN CREAM TO IMPROVE BUTTER

Shannon News, 1 November 1929, Page 4

STARTER IN CREAM TO IMPROVE BUTTER

Manawatu Experiments KEEPING QUALITIES ARE NOT IMPAIRED An important question engaging the attention of factory managers is that of msing starters in the manufacture of butter and the points raised for and

against are debatable. A number of experiments have been carried out by managers in the Manawatu district and the results indicate that the butter made from good cream to which a good starter had been added was superior, to. that from cream of equal quality without Starter. The keeping qualities of starter butter correctly manufactured from good cream

should remain sound. “We have been successful in this district in the making of starter butter and I believe our grades and quality will continue to improve, but there must be no easing upon the cream grading standard/' stated Mr. ,T. W. Smith, Departmental instructor, when discussing the question with a Times reporter In the Manawatu and West Coast districts last season there were 23 butter factories, 18 of which used starter continuously, two for part of the season and three which wore not using starter. Two of the factories using starter over their whole exportable output had an average grade of over 95 points per box of butter. The average grade per box. of butter of those 18 factories using starter and' exporting over 6500 tons was 93.96 points. It can justly be claimed that the Manawatu and West Coast districts manufacture some of the best and highest grading butter in the Dominion.

\ The following extract from a letter received from our Mr. Wright, dairy inspector, London, is of interest to this district: “I wonder if it would be pos-

sible ■ for the dairy company to manu-

facture’a special lot of butter for the London Dairy Show. The last time I examined this brand, it was, 1 really believe, fhe most perfect butter I ever had the pleasure of ironing, and .if we could only stage this or any other brand. with the same character and quality as that which was reported upon recently, we should certainly give our competitors a run for their money —to use a racing term." This report, states Mr. Smith, refers to one of our factories which uses a starter.

Great Changes. Those who can review buttermaking in this Dominion over the past 25 yearfs, have seen great changes in the manufacture. Home separation has supplanted factory separation methods and with a properly organised system of national farm dairy instruction, New

Zealand butter in the future will be of much higher and more uniform quality. / Under the factory separation system' starter was in general use and the development of acidity in those days was much higher than we are attaining in our present- manufacture. By home separation and the partial neu-j tralising of the acidity in cream, New; Zealand gradually developed the manu-: facture of so-called sweet cream butter but there is a tendency in some districts to-day to revert to the use of starter.

England is recognised as the world's 1 most discriminating butter market and Danish butter generally attains the highest price. The Danes use starter in the manufacture of their butter and develop an acidity and aroma which

suits the palate of some British consumers who apparently are partial to a full flavoured butter in preference to the flavour of sweet cream butter. In view of its geographical situation, New Zealand cannot use starter to the same extent as the Danes, but with the more recent methods of using starter it can manufacture a butter with a pleasing aroma and sound keeping qualities. Valuable Lesson.

A very valuable lesson has been learned in our manufacture of sweet cream butter. It has shown us that butter made from a low acid cream

has better keeping qualities than butter macle from cream in which considerable acidity has been developed. "We shall always continue to make some sweet cream butter in this Dominion," stated Mr. Smith, "because it tills a definite place for certain markets. ' ’ At the same time, he believed our quantity of starter butter would gradually increase. It had to be admitted that it required more skill and attention to details successfully to manufacture a starter butter with sound keeping quality than to make the usual sweet cream butter. Locality and local conditions counted fer something in the manufacture of dairy products, but the main factors in the manufacture of dairy products and particularly starter butter, were up-to-date sanitary conditions in the factory, good sound quality cream, the right kind of a starter aiul an expert butterraaker. it was in.the making of starter where the skill of the buttermaker was shown and it afforded him the opportunity to show his ability.