502 BUTTER DEFECTS 



flavor, however, disappears in a short time. Only a strong 

 cooked flavor is permanent in butter and is therefore objection- 

 able. 



Crowding the pasteurizer and the consequent use of too 

 much steam pressure is a common cause of cooked flavor. When 

 pasteurizing under such conditions, the caseous matter in the 

 cream that comes in direct contact with the overheated heating 

 surface becomes scorched and bakes on to the heating surface. 

 The scorching of the cream on the overheated coil of the 

 pasteurizer is also very often the cause of the scorched flavor. 



When butter made from raw cream has a cooked flavor, the 

 cause usually lies in overheating the coil in the forewarmer, by 

 forcing steam through it excessively. In this case the coil usu- 

 ally becomes heavily coated with a layer of burnt cream. It is 

 advisable to heat the coil in the forewarmer with hot water 

 instead of steam, in order to avoid the cooked flavor .in butter. 



The cooked flavor is occasionally confused with the oily 

 flavor, which is also a frequent characteristic of butter made 

 from improperly pasteurized cream, as explained under "Oily 

 Flavor." The two flavor defects have nothing in com- 

 mon, neither in their origin, nor in their relation to the market 

 value of the butter. The oily flavor is a serious butter defect 

 which is generally indicative of poor keeping quality. The 

 cooked flavor is not seriously objectionable, nor does its pres- 

 ence unfavorably reflect on the keeping quality of the butter. 



Coarse Flavor. This is a rather indefinite and general ex- 

 pression of butter flavor. It refers to butter that lacks the char- 

 acteristic delicacy of flavor of good butter, though the butter 

 may have no specific "off-flavor." Butter with a coarse flavor 

 is usually the result of high acid cream, or overripened cream 

 or overripened starter and excessive salt. The combination of 

 high acid and high salt seems to be particularly favorable for 

 the production of this so-called coarse flavor, and the presence 

 of undissolved salt crystals further intensifies this defect. 



Butter, the flavor of which is termed coarse, is generally not 

 looked upon with favor on the open market. If it shows no other 

 specific defect it usually grades as a poor "Firsts." Its keep- 

 ing quality is considered questionable, if not unreliable. 



