BUTTER DE^CTS 515 



This is possible only with butter made from cream that has been 

 thoroughly chilled before churning. 



Gritty Body. This defect is due to the presence in butter 

 of undissolved salt crystals. Grittiness is highly objectionable 

 to the consumer, it conveys the impression of excessive salt, 

 and gives the butter a seemingly strong salty and coarse flavor. 

 In properly salted butter all the salt is present in complete solu- 

 tion. The more complete the solution and distribution of the 

 salt, the more salt butter will stand without tasting objection- 

 ably salty. 



The usual factors which enter into the presence or absence 

 of grittiness of butter are, moisture content, temperature of but- 

 ter, amount of working, amount and temperature of salt added 

 and size and shape of salt crystals. 



As shown in "Composition of Butter," Chapter XVIII, 100 

 pounds of water at ordinary temperature is capable of dissolving 

 and holding in solution 35.94 pounds of salt, so that, theoret- 

 ically, butter containing say 15 per cent moisture is capable 



15 x 35 94 



of holding in solution r-r^- 1 5.39 per cent salt. Owing 



1UU 



to the very fine division of a part of the moisture in butter, the 

 salt added to butter is incapable of gaining access to and of 

 utilizing all the moisture present in butter during the brief time 

 during which butter is worked. In reality, butter containing 16 

 per cent moisture, makes possible the complete solution of not to 

 exceed about 4.5 to 5 per cent of salt, although this same amount 

 of water, if freed from the other butter constitutents is, in fact, 

 capable of dissolving salt equivalent to a salt content in butter, 

 of 5.75 per cent. Butter containing more than this amount of 

 salt, therefore, is prone to be gritty. All conditions which tend 

 towards a low moisture content invite the production of gritty 

 btitter, unless the amount of salt added is reduced correspond- 

 ingly. 



Insufficient working of the butter is another very common 

 cause of gritty butter. When butter is of normal texture it 

 should be worked until the salt is dissolved and all signs of 

 grittiness have disappeared. 



Finally the size and shape of the salt crystals may become 

 responsible for grittiness. The use of very coarse salt and espe- 



