720 OLEOMARGARINE. 



THE WORKING OP A BUTTERINE FACTORY. 



After a thorough personal inspection of the Government-licensed and 

 Government-inspected butterine factories, some of these inspections 

 made in company with our chief food chemist and expert, and all of 

 them made without any knowledge of the oleomargarine people that I 

 was coming, I find the following a summary of them all. 



Of course, the formulas change, but only as to proportions of the same 

 ingredients, and the temperatures vary a few degrees, according to the 

 experience of the particular factory making the variation. There is no 

 material difference. I quote from my memoranda: 



The oleomargarine is made up of a mixture of 



Per cent. 



Cotton-seed oil 15 to 25 



Neutral lard 20 to 35 



Oleooil . 20 to 35 



Butter 20 to 35 



This formula changes in the same factory slightly with the varying 

 temperatures of the seasons. 



THE ORIGIN OF THE INGREDIENTS. 



The healthfuluess of the ingredients which go into butterine and the 

 product itself is better understood when it is known whence and how 

 these parts of the product come. 



Neutral lard is a swine oil made from the leaf fat of Government- 

 inspected animals. It is the richest, cleanest, and finest fat of the hog. 

 Being a hog product, it might from religious scruples be objected to 

 by the orthodox Jew, just as he would from scruples of conscience object 

 to the whole hog and all his connections. 



Oleo oil is made from the caul fat of prime hand fed Government- 

 inspected beeves. It is the best oil which comes from the bovine 

 species. 



Butter oil, or that grade of cotton seed oil which is so known because 

 of its extra prime quality, is made from a certain grade of cotton seed, 

 gathered and selected at a certain stage of the cotton crop. They must 

 be well matured or butter oil will not result. It is the finest and dear- 

 est of the grades of cotton oil. The butterine maker might desire to 

 use a cheaper oil, but no other quality can be used. To attempt it 

 would be to ruin his product. The above grades of the above ingre- 

 dients must be employed; no otlier \vill mix perfectly. These ingredi- 

 ents are perfectly healthful and very nutritious. Neutral lard has 

 neither taste nor smell. The same may be said of butter and oleo oils; 

 such is virtually true. 



Butter, of course, comes from dairy cream. It is the other ingredient, 

 and is pasteurized because not from Government inspected stock, and 

 to kill the germs, which are well known to generally exist in milk from 

 the dairy. 



The neutral lard is melted at about 160 F.; the oleo oil 160; the 

 cream is sterilized at about 170. 



Most factories buy their neutral lard ready for mixing. When it is 

 not so bought it is made as follows: 



1. The fresh leaf fat is hashed ; that is, cut up for cooking the oil out. 



2. The pieces go into a rendering kettle, where the oil is cooked out 

 at a temperature of about 170. This temperature destroys all germs, 

 if any remain in a Government inspected hog. 



(*138) 



