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MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



Farrington and Woll give the following statement showing the 

 limits within which the components of normal American cow's 

 milk are likely to come : 



WATER-CONTENT OF MILK 



The water present in milk constitutes its most abundant 

 constituent. In it all the other substances are held in solu- 

 tion or suspension, as the case may be. The water also serves 

 to dilute the solid elements to the proper strength for the 

 nourishment of the young calf. The water found in milk is 

 the usual compound of oxygen and hydrogen commonly rec- 

 ognized as water, and its composition does not vary from the 

 usual form in which it is found in nature. 



THE FATS OF MILK 



The composition of milk-fat (Van Slyke) . l 



Milk-fat, also called butter-fat, is not a single chemical com- 

 pound, but is a somewhat variable mixture of several different 

 compounds called glycerides. In this respect it differs from all 

 other fats. Each glyceride is formed by the chemical union 

 of glycerin as a base with some acid or acids of a particular 

 kind. These glycerin-acid compounds, or glycerides, of milk- 

 fat contain about ten different acids, some being present in 

 small proportions. The four following acids enter most largely 

 into the composition of milk-fat, in the form of their combina- 



1 Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk Products, Orange 

 Judd Co. 



