COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OP BUTTER 545 



For instance, in churns in which the free water in the churn 

 precedes the butter in its movement toward and through the 

 workers, increase in moisture content may be found exceed- 

 ingly difficult. Under these conditions great care should be 

 taken not to drain and especially not to work the butter ex- 

 cessively before salting. Continued working and draining before 

 salting also renders complete solution of the salt difficult be- 

 cause it may cause such a reduction of the moisture in butter, 

 that not enough water is left to readily dissolve the salt and 

 these conditions make the assimilation of free water difficult, 

 in spite of overworking. 



The author's purpose of submitting these very inexact sug- 

 gestions is merely to place before the buttermaker, especially if 

 he be a beginner, some concrete idea of the principles involved 

 and their practical application, which may assist him in working 

 out his own method of moisture control that will best suit his 

 local conditions and equipment. 



Relation of per cent moisture to quality of butter. Within 

 reasonable limits, not exceeding about 16 per cent, the moisture 

 content of butter has no marked effect on its quality. Butter con- 

 taining 16 per cent moisture, other conditions being the same, 

 may have as good quality and may keep as well, as butter con- 

 taining only 12 per cent moisture. Generally speaking, however, 

 excessive moisture does not improve the quality of the butter, 

 and it may give rise to butter of very inferior quality, develop- 

 ing such off-flavors as oiliness and fishiness. This is not neces- 

 sarily due so much to the actual amount of water present, but 

 rather to the process of manufacture that was responsible for 

 the high water content. 



Whenever the high per cent of water is the result of over- 

 working the butter, quality is sacrificed. The breaking down 

 of the grain and the emulsification of air in butter, which are 

 inevitable incidents to such moisture incorporation, are antag- 

 onistic to good flavor and keeping quality. They invite oxidation 

 and other channels of decomposition. This is especially the case 

 with butter made from sour cream. 



Butter made in summer readily holds 16 per cent water 

 without overworking. Such butter is entirely normal, its grain 



