124 DAIRY LABORATORY GUIDE 



aroma of good butter is extremely delicate and passes away 

 soon after the sample is removed from the package. 



DESCRIPTIVE TERMS 

 Flavor. The flavor is the most important quality in 



butter, and is determined by the sense of smell and taste. 

 The aroma is detected by the sense of smell and the flavor by 

 the sense of taste. The judge combines these two and notes 

 the defects in order to form a judgment on flavor. 



Perfect flavor in the highest grade of butter made from 

 the very best cream is described as being clean, sweet, and 

 nutty. It should have a pleasant, delicate aroma, char- 

 acteristic of clean, well-ripened cream. 



Stable flavor is characteristic of cow stables, and is com- 

 monly caused by admixture of dirt or by milking, straining, 

 or keeping the milk too long in a dirty stable. 



Unclean flavor results from dirty pails, strain- 

 ers, and other utensils, or from careless methods 

 of handling the milk. 



Rancid flavor is caused by overripened cream 

 or when milk, cream, or butter is kept too long, 

 especially when kept in the sunshine. 



Curdy flavor is often due to adding over- 

 ripened starters to the cream, or to incomplete 

 removal of the buttermilk when washing the 

 butter. 



Weedy flavor is due to the cows eating weeds 

 in the pasture. It may come from feeding the 

 cows onions, cabbage, or turnips, or it may come from ex- 

 posing the milk and the cream in surroundings where de- 

 cayed vegetable odors are present. 



Oily flavor may result from churning the cream, wash- 

 ing or working the butter at too high a temperature. It may 



