256 MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



of salt may vary from up to 4 per cent or 5 per cent. As the 

 chief purpose of salting is to improve the flavor of the butter, 

 the amount of salt to be added will depend on the requirements 

 of the market. At the present time, there is a strong demand 

 for unsalted butter. The use of salt tends to cover up un- 

 desirable flavors in butter and thus hide the effects of poor 

 cream ; also it is believed by some that salt improves the keep- 

 ing quality of the poorer grades of butter. When pure cream 

 is used for butter-making, a high percentage of salt is usually 

 added. The salt is usually applied by sifting it over the butter 

 while it is in the granular form in the churn, and if a high grade 

 of salt is used, it very quickly becomes completely dissolved 

 and subsequent working incorporates it uniformly through the 

 butter. Probably the salt is not taken up by the butter-fat, 

 but remains in solution in the moisture which is incorporated 

 in the butter ; the amount of moisture in the butter, therefore, 

 will influence the amount of salt which can be incorporated. 

 Nothing but the best quality of salt should be used because of 

 the danger of its not becoming fully dissolved and the condition 

 known as gritty butter resulting. This condition may be due 

 either to using salt of poor quality or in such great quantity 

 that it cannot be dissolved in the water which remains in the 

 butter. If the salt is not completely dissolved, it will give the 

 butter a mottled appearance, which may be due to other 

 causes, but usually is the result of the uneven distribution of 

 salt. 



MOISTURE-CONTENT OF THE BUTTER 



The moisture-content of the butter is more variable than 

 any other constituent. The percentage of water in the finished 

 butter may vary between rather wide limits without affecting 

 its commercial value. While there is no direct relation between 

 the moisture-content and the quality of the butter, it is impor- 

 tant from the commercial standpoint that this factor be con- 



