THE BUTTER OVERRUN 



171 



Moisture Content of Butter. The moisture is second 

 in importance because it is present in comparatively large 

 amounts and the per cent thereof is readily increased or re- 

 duced, and the overrun thereby correspondingly increased 

 or reduced. Moisture is an essential ingredient, inasmuch as it 

 adds pliability to the butter. However, the body of the butter 

 becomes short and injured if the moisture content is increased 

 to above the amount which is normally held in the butter. 

 Normal butter, in accordance with the Federal standards, 

 should contain less than 16 per cent of moisture. 



The average moisture content of the butter cannot be con- 

 sidered uniform through the year, even if the butter is manu- 

 factured under uniform conditions, because the chemical com- 

 position of the butter fat is influenced by various factors. 

 Butter containing a high per cent of softer fats will contain 

 more moisture than butter containing less of such fats. This 

 explains the tendency of the butter to take up more moisture 

 during the spring of the year than during the winter season. 



TABLE VIII 



TABLE GIVING VALUE OF OVERRUN PER POUND OF BUTTER AND PER POUND 

 OF BUTTER FAT WHEN MARKET VALUE OF BUTTER is 30 CENTS PER 

 POUND 



