CHAPTER XXXI. 



RENOVATED BUTTER. 



STATISTICS show that more than a billion pounds of butter 

 are made on farms in this country every year. Some of 

 it is consumed at home, but most of it is taken to the local 

 grocer. Of this latter, the best grades usually find ready 

 sale to consumers in town. Unfortunately, dairy butter 

 varies so greatly in quality, and so much of it is poor, 

 that vast quantities of this product are unsalable as 

 butter. 



The production of farm butter is much greater during 

 the summer than it is during the winter. This results in 

 an overproduction during the hot summer months, when it 

 is difficult to control quality, under average farm condi- 

 tions. As a consequence, much of it is finally marketed 

 at the renovating plant. 



Ladles. The chief method of disposing of this farm 

 butter in the past was to add color and salt if needed, and 

 work it into a homogeneous product. This reworking con- 

 verted the various colors and qualities of butter into one 

 batch having a uniform color, degree of saltiness, and 

 quality. Heavy salting was usually practiced to conceal 

 the undesirable flavors. This reworked butter is known 

 commercially as ladles or ladled butter. Only the best 

 farm butter, of most uniform color and salt content, is 

 now used for ladles. The remainder is manufactured into 

 renovated or process butter. 



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