156 MODERN METHODS OF TESTING MILK 



water easily apparent to the eye. Butter may some- 

 times contain so much water as to be called "mushy." 



(3) Milky or turbid moisture or brine appears more 

 or less milky, being due to the presence of too much 

 buttermilk. 



Relation of texture, body and moisture. — Considera- 

 ble confusion prevails in the use of the terms texture, 

 body and moisture. Some use the term -texture to in- 

 clude also body and moisture ; others use the term 

 body to include texture, while others use the expres- 

 sion ''body and grain" to cover all three qualities. Tex- 

 ture and body and moisture may be influenced by the 

 same conditions and may be, to some extent, interde- 

 pendent, but in reality they are distinct properties and, 

 if they were treated as such, needless confusion would 

 be avoided. 



Color. — The color of butter varies in different mar- 

 kets according to requirements, but most of the but- 

 ter made in the United States has, as its standard, an 

 even, bright, straw-yellow. Most butter in commerce 

 is colored artificially, so as to maintain a uniform ap- 

 pearance at all seasons of the year. Somewhat dif- 

 ferent shades of color are demanded by different mar- 

 kets. 



Testing color. — The quality of color is tested 

 simply by inspection with the eye. The thumb-nail is 

 run along the surface of the plug near the edge of the 

 trier, and the fresh surface thus made is examined. 

 The examiner carries in his mind the shade of what 

 he regards as an ideal color and judges the sample 

 under examination by its comparison with his ideal. 

 It would lead to easier methods of comparison and 



