374 PACKING BUTTER 



acids and brine, iron is quickly corroded by these agents. The 

 tin plate of the butter cans is sheet iron with a thin coating of 

 tin. This tin coating is not always entirely impervious and 

 sooner or later the acids and the brine will attack the iron un- 

 derneath, unless the tin plate is heavily shellaced. Iron salts 

 thus formed are disastrous to the quality of the butter. Of late 

 years, and particularly as the result of the shortage of tin plate, 

 cans constructed of aluminum are also being used for pack- 

 ing butter. 



Packing tubs, boxes, cubes and tins. After the packages 



have been properly treated and lined, they are ready for the 

 butter. They are now conveniently arranged in a row in front 

 of the churn and the butter is transferred into them from the 

 churn. Since the distribution of salt and moisture in the butter 

 is seldom entirely uniform in all parts of the churn, butter 

 from the same part of the churn should be distributed into 

 the different tubs, boxes or cubes, so that all packages receive 1 

 butter from all parts of the churn. The butter should not be 

 transferred with the naked hand. The skin of the perspiring 

 operator should not touch the butter, he should either wear 

 cotton gloves or rubber gloves, or use ladles, or both. Before 

 using the ladles and packers they should be thoroughly washed 

 and steamed in order to prevent unnecessary contamination of 

 the butter with germ life, then they should be soaked in cold 

 water to prevent the butter from sticking to them. The gloves 

 should be clean and sweet-smelling, and when taken off they 

 should be placed in brine. 



It is important that the butter in the tub be packed very 

 solidly, avoiding air pockets, especially between the butter and 

 the sides of the -package, which admit air and favor mold 

 growth. Pockets in the body of the butter are undesirable also 

 because these pockets collect the brine, cause uneven distribu- 

 tion of the moisture, uneven color, and give the butter a leaky 

 appearance. The package should be filled completely full and 

 finished neatly on the surface. This is best done by filling the 

 tub or box above the edge of the wood, tamping thoroughly 

 with the packer and cutting off the surplus with a taut wire or 

 a sharp piece of wood wood is preferable. The border of the 



