102 Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the 



salted lightly had a tendency, after standing awhile in cold 

 storage, to show a cheesy flavor while butter heavily salted 

 showed a fishy flavor. These experiments were carried on where 

 ice was used for refrigerating purposes, hence the temperatures 

 were not as low as when artificial refrigeration was used. A 

 few weeks ago I had the privilege of scoring some 200 samples 

 of experimental butter. The different lots had been packed from 

 the same churning, so any defects occurring were due to after- 

 considerations. In every case where butter had been kept at 

 10 degrees below zero the light salted butter showed up about as 

 fresh and sweet as the day it was made, while the high salted 

 butter had a slight fishy flavor. When butter was kept at 10° 

 below zero, it scored from 3 to 4 points higher than that kept 

 as 32° above. In fact, in some cases we found a difference of 

 six points. 



The question of air spaces being left in packages is receiving 

 special attention in our experiments and indications are that it 

 has a serious bearing on the keeping quality of butter. 



The factors that control the water content of butter are tem- 

 perature of churning, thickness of cream, amount of cream 

 churned, condition of churning and working of butter in water. 

 A thick cream will give a higher percent of overrun than a 

 thin cream under normal conditions ; or in other words, a cream 

 containing 40 to 45 percent fat will give you a larger overrun 

 than will a 20 or 25 percent cream, unless you use some other 

 method of changing the natural conditions of the latter churn- 

 ing. The reason why a thick cream will give you a greater over- 

 run is undoubtedly due to the formation of the butter granules. 

 In a thick cream the granules as they gather are irregular in 

 size and somewhat oblong in shape, and the fat globules are not 

 driven together so firmly as in the churning of a thin cream. It 

 has been thoroughly demonstrated in the large creameries, where 

 a detailed record is kept of all work, that under normal condi- 

 tions a churn filled two-thirds full with cream will give a much 

 higher percent of overrun than one filled one-third full. A large 

 churning is not influenced by atmospheric conditions as much as 

 a smaller churning is, and the butter gathers in a more flocculent 

 condition, that is to say as I have just remarked, the fat globules 

 are not driven together so firmly as in a small churning. When 

 over 16 percent of water is incorporated in butter it is usually 

 accomplished at the expense of its body, for when butter takes 

 up an excessive amount of water it nnist become somewhat soft 

 or pasty in character. It has been known for years that some 

 farm or dairy butter contained so much water that it affected its 

 color, giving it a light, pale, lifeless color. Excessive churning, 

 or churning in it large lumps or rolls, will give you a high per- 



