FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 223, 19 March 1912, Page 6

FARM AND DAIRY.

BUTTER AND CHEESE. QUALITY OF THE SEASON'S MAKE. With regard to the quality of the but. ter coming forward into the grading stores this season, it is satisfactory (says the Dairy Commissioner, Mr. D. Cuddie, in the March is&ue of the Journal of the Department of Agriculture) to be able to report that there has been a noticeable improvement. Many of the factories have continued to send in consignments of high-quality butter, steadily scoring from 93 to 95 points. The different days' makes have shown great uniformity, and the same can be said of the outputs from the different factories. The pasteurisation of cream, which has now been generally adopted, is in a large measure responsible for the improvement. Factories that were only turning out a me-dium-quality butter last year are among those now manufacturing some of the best butter in the country. Of course, there are some brands of butter reaching the stores the quality of which is not as good as it should be. The tendency in general, however, is to make butter that will not only grade well, but will maintain its keeping quality and reach the market in a sound condition. At the same time, it must be admitted that there have been a few complaints from the London end in regard to inferior quality, but these have applied as a general rule to brands that were adversely reported on at this end, the New Zealand official judgment being borne out by the London grader of the Department. A special effort has been, made by many factory managers this year to avoid over-ripeness in the cream, which has a decided detrimental effect on the finished product. 'Where ripening of the cream is carefully controlled, and the cream is pasteurised and then ripened with a clean-flavored starter, the butter has come under the trier in a satisfactory state, and appears to have carried Home in good order. While the quality of the butter is a cause for congratulation, that of cheese has also shown considerable improvement. Generally a very good standard of quality is being maintained. Defects in flavor and also in manufacturing details are noticeable here and there, while some of the consignments have exhibited a certain amount of iregularity. However, some very good lines of cheese are coining forward for each fortnightly steamer. As in previous seasons, there has been a considerable amount of openness in the body of some of the cheese, and as this as rather a serious fault in ' the eyes of the trade—who regard body and texture as of much importance as elean flavor —it is essential that makers should do their utmost to ensure a closecutting, meaty cheese.