542 COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF BUTTER 



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The natural firmness of the butter varies with locality and 

 season of year, but the actual firmness can- be controlled readily 

 by the proper adjustment of the churning temperature, and the 

 proper adjustment and control of the churning temperature is 

 the foundation of satisfactory moisture control. When, in the 

 spring, the butterfat becomes softer, the churning temperature 

 must be lowered sufficiently to maintain the desired firmness of 

 the butter. In the fall, when the natural change in the character 

 of the butterfat tends towards a firmer butter, the churning tem- 

 perature must be raised sufficiently to offset this change. The 

 extent to which the butter is drained before, or during the work- 

 ing process, or both, will further influence the control of its 

 moisture content. 



In the case of unsalted butter, moisture control is largely a 

 matter of giving the free water an opportunity to escape, since, 

 under average conditions, the amount of water present in its 

 original, finely divided and thoroughly emulsified form, repre- 

 sents a very large portion of the total per cent of water that 

 legal butter is permitted to contain. In unsalted butter the 

 tendency naturally is toward a high moisture content. 



In the case of salted butter the salt, owing to its great 

 affinity for water, causes a large number of the very small 

 droplets to run together into drops and to escape as free water. 

 Moisture control, here, therefore, has to do with the re-division, 

 re-emulsification and reincorporation of a sufficient amount of 

 the free water, in order to bring the per cent moisture back to 

 that desired, and this is accomplished by proper working. 



Moisture Control. Factory Directions. Owing to the many 

 and ever-changing factors which influence the property of the 

 butter to retain or take up and hold water, such as type of churn, 

 character of butterfat, churning temperature, etc., it is, as yet, 

 not possible to reduce the art of moisture control to a mathemat- 

 ical, exact science, whereby a given formula may be depended 

 upon to produce the desired results. Moisture control is an art, 

 the success of which demands local experience and judgment on 

 the part of the buttermaker, quite as much as scientific knowl- 

 edge. For this reason, the specific method that should be used 

 for best results, must be left to the judgement of the buttermaker, 

 who, operating his churns daily, is familiar with his local condi- 





