230 Milk and Its Products 



and its general style and appearance. Butter of good 

 flavor should have the characteristic flavors well pro- 

 nounced. It should be free from any rancidity, and 

 clean and pure so far as any extraneous flavor is con- 

 cerned. The determination of the flavor of any sam- 

 ple of butter is entirely one of individual judgment. 

 To some a high flavor is one in which the flavoring 

 oils are developed almost to the verge of rancidity; 

 in others, high flavor means a certain amount of the 

 flavor of sour milk or buttermilk ; with still others, 

 that butter is esteemed of the best flavor that is 

 cleanest and purest. The true bouquet of high -class 

 butter is a mild, distinct, volatile flavor or combina- 

 tion of flavors extremely difficult to describe, and only 

 met with in perfection under the best conditions. 



The texture of butter depends upon the state of 

 the granular condition of the fats. When the butter 

 is first formed in the churn it makes its appearance 

 in the shape of minute irregular granules. In the sub- 

 sequent process of manufacture these granules never 

 completely lose their individuality, and constitute the 

 so-called grain of the butter. The more distinctly 

 the individuality of the granules is marked in the 

 mass of butter, the better the texture. The texture 

 of the butter is shown by an appearance like broken 

 cast iron when a mass of butter is broken in two 

 transversely, and when a metal is passed through the 

 butter, as a knife or trier, if the butter be of the 

 best texture, no particles of fat adhere to it. The 

 texture of the butter is deteriorated if the particles 

 of butter are churned in too large masses, and if 



