OLEOMARGARINE. 



663 



To accomplish this, the fat is packed in cloths 

 set in moulds, to form packages 13 x 5J x 2 inch- 

 es. These packages are placed on plates of gal- 

 vanized iron in the press, one above the other. 

 Each plate holds twelve bags, and from thirty- 

 six to forty plates are used in each hydraulic 

 press. The packages contain from two to three 

 pounds of fat, so that each press, when filled, 

 holds about 1,200 pounds. About an hour is 

 required to fill a press. Before it is completely 

 filled, the butter-oil flows from each package, 

 from the weight of the plates above ; and when 

 the press is entirely full, a gradually increasing 

 pressure is applied, amounting at last to about 

 3,000 pounds to the square inch. This pres- 

 sure is kept up until the 

 butter-oil ceases to flow 

 from the bags or pack- 

 ages, leaving a cake of 

 stearine perfectly dry, 

 hard, and white. The 

 press is then unpacked, 

 and the cakes of stearine, 

 taken from the bags, are 

 in a condition to be packed 

 for shipment. The butter- 

 oil is received into a large 

 reservoir, and if it is to 

 be shipped it flows into 

 perfectly clean tierces, 

 where, after solidifying, 

 it is sealed up. In this 

 state the butter-oil will 

 keep for an almost in- 

 definite period. A large 

 quantity is exported to 

 Europe, to be churned 

 with milk into butter. 

 The name " oleomarga- 

 rine" was given to this 

 butter-oil because it was 

 thought to be composed 

 principally of oleine and 

 margarine ; but Heintz 

 and Gossman have shown that margarine is 

 not a simple fat, but a compound consisting of 

 palmitine and stearine. Hence the term is 

 really a misnomer. 



The oleomargarine of commerce is largely 

 used as a cheap cooking butter. It is a light- 

 yellow substance, melts in the mouth like but- 

 ter, and has a rather agreeable taste. When 

 butter-oil is not to be used for shipment or 

 consumption in its present state, it is pumped 

 while warm from the reservoir, over to the 

 dairy-room, where it is received in large cylin- 

 drical kettles, which keep it at the proper tem- 

 perature for use in the next operation. It is 

 now to be churned with milk, and thus con- 

 verted into "butterine," or "oleomargarine 

 butter." The accompanying illustration rep- 

 resents that section of the dairy-room known 

 as the churning department. The churns in 

 this room hold about 600 pounds of material, 

 viz., 442 pounds of butter-oil, 120 pounds of 

 milk, 37i pounds of cream-made butter, and 



If ounces of bicarbonate of soda. This mix- 

 ture is churned for some five to ten minutes, 

 when some coloring matter is added, and the 

 churning continued for thirty to forty minutes 

 longer. The first agitation forms a perfect 

 emulsion, and the continued motion supplies 

 to it a homogeneous color. 



At the time oleomargarine butter was first 

 made in the United States, by Paraf, the con- 

 tents of the churn, after the operation, were 

 allowed to flow out into tubs, and, on being 

 solidified, were worked on tables with salt, 

 then packed, and offered in market. The but- 

 ter thus made was crystallized, which gave it 

 a gritty taste, and prevented its being sold. As 



no one experimented in the direction given by 

 Niege, the sale was very limited for a year or 

 so. Dr. Henry A. Mott, of New York, began 

 a series of experiments to prevent crystalliza- 

 tion, with excellent results, which have gen- 

 erally been adopted by manufacturers. The 

 process, as simplified and perfected by Dr. Mott, 

 is as follows: The churned mixture, a creamy- 

 looking emulsion, is allowed to flow from the 

 churns directly on pounded ice, which is kept 

 in rapid motion until the whole mass becomes 

 solid. By this process crystallization of the 

 butter is wholly prevented. The ice absorbs 

 the sensible (and in part the latent) heat of 

 the emulsion, not giving it time to crystallize. 

 This congealed emulsion is left in contact with 

 the ice for two or three hours, when the mass 

 is dumped out on inclined tables. The larger 

 pieces of ice are picked out, and the smaller 

 ones melt out through the heat of the room, 

 which is kept from 85 to 90. The butter is 

 then left to soften for six or eight hours. When 



