BUTTER-MAKING.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 24, 27 January 1913, Page 3

BUTTER-MAKING.

I THE USE OF SALT. I Melbourne, January 13. I An interesting paper in the AgriculI ture Section of the Science Congress was read by Mr E. Crowe, superintenI dent of exports, who dealt with buttermaking experiments. Front time to I time doubts had arisen, he said, as to whether salt in butter had any preserving effect, or if it was only a flavouring agent. An experiment concluded in November with one parcel of butter from the same churning showed that the sample which had no salt or preservative in it was better after keeping for some months than the duplicate sample, with only salt added. Three factory managers were written to—one in the western district, another in Gippsland, and a third in the Goulburn Valley. They provided bntters from one churning, now five weeks old. The western, district sample, made without salt or preservative, is still a first-grade butter, meriting 91.5 points, whilst the duplicate, to which salt was added in the process of manufacture, is now distinctly a secondgrade butter, with only 86.6 points. So that there is a difference in grade se-

parated by 4.9 points. The Gippsland butter, made without salt or preservative, merits 91.66 points, whilst the duplicate sample containing salt is worth 89.16 points. There is, therefore, a difference of 2.5 points between the two in favour of the saltless sample. These results show distinctly that butter without salt keeps better over a lengthened period in cool storage than salted butter. The percentage of total butter exported yearly without any salt is 35, and • unsalted butter usually commands a higher price by 2s per cwt. than that which is salted, the reason given being that 'butter in that form is more suitable for blending purposes, or for sale as Normandy, or in competition with Normandy unsalted butter. y l.' On the ‘question of • jirice it should be remenjb'ered that unsalted butter contains On the average slightly more butter fat than salted gutter, and also a greater percentage of moisture. From 19,470 results, the* a'vetage composition of Victorian butter may be stated as follows: Per cent. ,'t Butter-fat•--83.5 •„ Moisture ... ... 13.8 Curd 0.7 Salt.,it/cr-*."* ’ // j ... 1.8 Borio/acjd -*,» v it ... 0.2 . ,j,. 100.0