372 PACKING BUTTER 



Firkins. Firkins are not used in this country for packing 

 butter except on very rare occasions. They are a popular but- 

 ter package in European countries especially for export and 

 storage butter (Datierbutter). Firkins (Drittel) hold 50 kilo- 

 grams or 110.23 pounds of butter. These barrels are 55 cm. 

 (22 inches) in height and their diameter in the center and at 

 the ends is 34 and 41 cm. (13.6 and 16.4 inches) respectively. 

 Before packing they are steamed, soaked in cold water, brine 

 or sal soda solution, for one day, then rinsed out with hot water 

 and again with cold water after which salt is rubbed 

 into the staves on the inside. The bottom is then covered with 

 a thin layer of salt, and the firkin is lined with parchment. 

 After packing, the top of the butter is beveled off toward the 

 sides and covered with a layer of salt. The object of having 

 the surface of the butter highest in the center and tapering 

 toward the sides is to permit the brine to run into the space 

 between the butter and the side of the barrel when the butter, 

 upon standing, has receded from the sides of the barrel ; this 

 shuts out the air and assists in protecting the butter against 

 mold, etc. 



Tin Cans. Butter intended for the tropics and South Amer- 

 ica and some butter supplied the U. S. Government is packed 

 in hermetically sealed tin cans. Exporting houses buying their 

 butter from American creameries and supplying the tropics buy 

 the butter in tubs and repack it into tin cans, which are subse- 

 quently hermetically sealed. These cans hold from J4 to 5 

 kilograms, the metric system being used as the basis of weights. 

 They are packed into cases and in order to prevent shaking and 

 damage to the cans, the interstices between the cans and the 

 sides of the case are filled in with some cheap, light packing ma- 

 terial such as rice hulls, shavings, excelsior, corrugated paper, etc. 



The object of the use of a non-absorptive and hermetically 

 sealed package is to prevent leakage of water and oil and to 

 improve the keeping quality of the butter, exposed to unfavor- 

 able temperature conditions, by excluding the air. Experiments 

 conducted by Rogers 1 show that sterile butter so packed and 



1 Rogers, "Canned Butter." U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, B. A. I. Bulletin 

 57, 1904. 



