366 PACKING BUTTER 



quality of parchment, kept in a clean, dry place and properly 

 treated before use. 



Preparation of Tubs and Liners. All butter tubs should 

 be properly treated before being packed, in order to remove 

 the woody odor which is prone to be absorbed by the butter, 

 to free them from mold spores with which they are always 

 more or less contaminated, to make them airtight to hinder the 

 growth of molds after packing, and to prevent excessive loss 

 of weight due to leakage of brine. Moldy butter in the great 

 majority of cases is the direct result of lack of attention to 

 the proper treatment of tubs and liners. 



Since salt has properties antagonistic to the growth of 

 molds, the soaking of the tubs in a saturated solution of hot 

 salt brine is a very common and fairly effective method of 

 treatment. This is best done by immersing the tubs in a long 

 vat containing the hot brine. The tubs should be nested so as to 

 retain their shape, otherwise they are prone to warp out of 

 shape. The tubs should be set to soak on the day before they 

 are needed. If they are not clean or show signs of mold spots, 

 they should be thoroughly scrubbed with a brush and hot water 

 containing some alkali, before soaking. Steaming for 5 to 10 

 minutes is an additional safeguard against mold. The addition 

 to the water or brine in which the tubs are soaked, of formalde- 

 hyde, sodium hypochlorite, boric acid and other disinfectants 

 has also been recommended to guard against mold. 



Formaldehyde lends the butter an objectionable flavor and 

 odor, if used in other than exceedingly dilute solutions. A safe 

 proportion that still is antagonistic to mold growth is a dilu- 

 tion of 1 part of formaldehyde in 400 parts of water, or about 

 J ounce formaldehyde in one gallon of water. 



Hypochlorite of soda also should be used with caution, be- 

 cause of its tendency to bleach butter. It may be used at the 

 rate of two tablespoons hypochlorite in four gallons of water. 



Boric acid has no known injurious effect on butter. It is 

 best used in the form of a .5 per cent solution or about 2/3 

 ounce in one gallon of water. 



It should be clearly understood that all these disinfectants 

 and antiseptics are injurious to health when consumed with 



