NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 306, 22 December 1908, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER.

DAIKY caMAILSiSIO.VKK'S HKi'ORT. The following report of the Dairy' Commissioner on Jiis while in England will bo read with interest by tin- milk suppliers of Urn district :—*• Most of my time was taken up hi the great market in Tooley street,, where th.» majority of tlie wholesale merchants who deal in New Zealand dairy produce hav<- their headquarters. Occasional visits were paid to the. produce stores in other parts of London.. The method of procedure was to examine as many as possible of the different brands of butter coming forward byl each shipment, and to compare the qua-' lity according to grade. When carrying out this work I had Lhe advantage of the assistance of the salesmen employed at the various stores and warehouses. These men, who are first-class judges of butter, freely gave me their opinions on the flavour and general quality of 'each lot sampled, pointing out lhe defects, if any, and making suggestions as to the kind of butter which suited their trade, etc. In this way I was able to ascertain tlie class of butler which is most suitable for the trade generally, and which will sell for the highest price. I found that a great deal of thi! butler shipped to Louden from the Dominion was giving entire satisfaction. Tlie merchants, salesmen,

anil buyers spoke highly of the quality \ of the best butters, stating that, they j had no fault to lind with them what- • ever. As a general rule, they opened up well afteijgdefrosting, which fakes from four to live days fiom the time of discharge from the chambers of the steamers. These butters appeared to ■ have carried well, and maintained their freshness and soundness of llavonr throughout the time of transportation; in fact, it was to me something of a surprise to lind so little change in some of the liigh-scoring brands. Comparing the butter from New Zealand with that ou the market from other countries it was found that, with the exception of the best from Denmark and some of that fronf Sweden, the butter from this country was, as a general rule, superior, and this was borne out by the opinion expressed to me by the experienced judges in the trade. It must be admitted however, that a much higher proportion of the Danish butter is of superior quality than is that from New Zealand. When the Danish butter reaches the market it is unorc uniform than that from New Zealand, and the principal reason of this difference is the nearness of Denmark to Britain. Tile butter is only a few days old when placed on the market; consequently it is in the best possible condition for distribution, and is sold at the highest 'Prices. During my stay in l.a)ndon complaint against the quality of New Zealand butter was almost entirely absent; but this was not due to the absence jf faults iu some of the brands of butter, but to the extraordinary state of the market. Butter was in short supply, aiul prices were ruling much above normal, with the result that less attention than usual was paid to quality by the purchasers. Quite a number of the leading merchants informed me that nothing in the way of complaints regarding poor quality of butter would be heard, owing to the abnormal state of the market. One merchant, stated that a very bad time had been chosen to find out the true position of tile weak ipoints in the quality of New Zealand butte , ' because,' he said ' no one will say any- , thing against the butter so long as : good proliU are being made, by its sale.' , Notwithstanding this drawback, the faults in the poorer class of butter came . under my observation, and I was also I able to obtain -an expression of opinion i on the quality from many in the trade, i as well iy< to form an idea of what i might be expected in the way of coiui plaints on a weak or crcu>.normal market. While much of the butter exam- > incd arrived on the market in goodcon- ■ dition, a considerable portion was found to be defective, in ilavour. Some of it had not kept well, and evidenced more , or less of a stale llavor. In a few of the brands of butter examined a strong or > unclean llavour was noticeable, but tliis ; defect was found only amongst the lower ' grades. The most serious defect, of all i was what is known as the. 'fis'hv' flav- [ our, and it could be detected in quite a number of the butters from the various dairying districts throughout the Dominion. Unfortunately, a few of the high-scoring butters were not altogether faultless in this respect. In the majority of cases, however, it was the poorer class butters which were all'ected. This llavour is considered by the trade as being the most objectionable one found iu butter. It is very difficult to detect i;i the early stages, and is rarely noticeable until after the butter lias been held in cool stores for some time, but develops rapidly as soon as the butter lias been, removed from the store and defrosted. ' Kishiness' is found in nearly all butter to a greater or less ex- | tent, but is more general in the dairy produce which has to undergo storage or transportation over long distances before it can be placed 071 the market, as in the case of New Zealand, hiftter. AY hen discussing this defect in butter - with those in the trade several of tho merchants gave it as their opinion that the tendency towards : lishiness' in New Zealand butter was more prevalent last season than usual. However, owing to short supplies and bareness of the market, little complaint was made by the buyers, the butter being consumed before the taint had become fully developed. At the present time little is known as to the exact cause of tjifci ' fishy' llavour in butter, hut tlieTe seems to be no doubt that it is due to the mill,- or cream being contaminated in one way or another. On making enquiries into this matter during my visit, to Denmark, I was informed by the officials at the Central Experimental Station at Copenhagen that the only known remedy for the prevention of 'fisliiness' iu butter is to keep Hie milk j and cream free from contamination, to pasteurise the cream, and to ripen it with a first-class starter. It may be mentioned that similar treatment lias been recommended by this Division for years, and where it has been adopted the objectionable flavour had not appeared. Pasi experiences 'have proved that it will certainly pay a dairy company whose butter is turning out 'flsliy' to adopt the system of pasteurisation. This system has been proved to be effectual, and at the present time it is the only remedy known for overcoming this somewhat common defect in butter."