22 MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



Browne gives the composition of milk-fat as follows with 

 the percentage of each of the fatty acids : 



FATTY ACID PER CENT OF TOTAL FAT 



Oleic 33.95 



Palmitic 40.51 



Myristic 10.44 



Stearic 1.91 



Dioxystearic 1.04 



Butyric 6.23 



Laurie . . 2.73 



Caproic 2.32 



Caprylic 0.53 



Capric 0.34 



100.00 

 The non-volatile fats. 



It will be seen that the non-volatile or insoluble fats con- 

 stitute by far the greater part of the total fat in milk, possibly 

 varying between the limits of from 85 to 88 per cent of the total. 

 These fat-acids differ materially in their hardness or the tem- 

 perature at which they melt. Richmond gives the melting 

 point for the members of this group as follows : 



Oleic 14.0 C. 



[68.5 

 Stearic j to 



[69.2 



Palmitic 62.0 



Myristic 53.8 



The relative amounts of these fats are more or less variable, 

 and have a decided effect on the texture of butter. 

 The volatile fats. 



The volatile or soluble fats constitute only a small part of 

 the total fats in milk, normally from 12 to 15 per cent. Of 

 these, butyrin is present in the largest amounts. Like the 

 non-volatile fat-acids, the members of this group also vary 

 decidedly in their melting points which are given by Richmond 

 as follows : 



