THE OVERRUN 397 



ing, the buttermaker can, without much difficulty, hold the 

 moisture content of his butter below the maximum limit of 

 16 per cent, even under these abnormal conditions of raw mate- 

 rial. 



There are other times and conditions when the butter has 

 properties that cause it to take up and hold much less moisture 

 than 16 per cent. This is usually the case in winter, when the 

 cows are well advanced in their period of lactation and receive 

 largely only dry feed. These conditions are conducive of rel- 

 atively small size fat globules and fat of a relatively high melt- 

 ing point, causing the fat to be very firm, in which condition it 

 refuses to readily mix with and hold water. The tendency then 

 is for butter to be low in moisture and the overrun to be corre- 

 spondingly low. But here again, with the proper adjustment 

 of the churning temperature and with the intelligent manipula- 

 tion of the butter in the churn, the buttermaker can, without 

 great difficulty, hold the moisture content of his butter close 

 to the 16 per cent limit and thereby maintain a satisfactory 

 overrun. 



These facts also explain why the buttermaker on the farm 

 and the buttermakers in many small local creameries, who lack 

 the knowledge, skill and equipment necessary to regulate the 

 per cent moisture in butter, and who often pay no attention at 

 all to moisture content, are unable to secure a satisfactory over- 

 run in winter, and frequently exceed the 16 per cent moisture 

 limit in summer. 



Since the overrun represents one of the all-essential factors 

 in successful butter manufacture, and since, in the face of the 

 keen competition and of the narrow margin of profit, the very 

 life of the creamery depends on the overrun, it is the butter- 

 maker's undisputed duty to hold the moisture content of his 

 butter as close to the maximum limit permitted by law as possi- 

 ble, consistent with maintenance of quality and making due 

 allowance always for unavoidable variations. If the buttermaker 

 adjusts his process in such a manner as to work to a moisture 

 content of 15.5 per cent, he should experience no serious difficulty 

 to stay within the requirements of the law, and at the same time 

 to secure the maximum overrun that may be expected of him. 

 other factors being under control. 



