SOME OF THE CAUSES AND THEIR PREVENTION 335 



tion, and if such butter is worked to the extent of avoiding mot- 

 tles and thoroughly incorporating the salt, there is danger 

 of the body being seriously affected and the butter having It 

 greasy or lardy taste. 



Butter which has been well made and kept away from the light 

 when placed in storage will seldom, if ever, show a tallowy flavor. 



Metallic Flavors. A heavy loss is sustained by the butter 

 industry every year through metallic and fishy flavors. There 

 does not seem to be a clear understanding between some butter 

 judges as to the distinction between these two classes of flavors. 

 Metallic flavor and fishy flavor are two entirely different things. 



Metallic flavor shows in the butter as soon as it is churned 

 and is invariably found in butter made from extremely sour 

 cream, while fishy flavor develops in butter on standing. What 

 actually causes metallic flavor is not thoroughly understood, and 

 various causes have been assigned by different people. Metallic 

 butter has a pungent flavor, characteristic of the taste of metallic 

 salts. Many people are of the opinion that cream acquires a 

 metallic flavor by being shipped in rusty cans or coming in 

 contact with vats or coils from which a portion of the tin has 

 been removed. 



Certain creameries have reported that in some cases the first 

 churning from a vat of cream is free from metallic flavor, while 

 this flavor is present in the second churning from the same vat. 

 This would seem to indicate that the flavor is due to the develop- 

 ment of some undesirable fermentation, or to bacterial action. 



The peculiar feature about metallic flavor is that it is a sea- 

 sonal condition; it comes and disappears. Heat seems to inten- 

 sify it or make it more pronounced. The authors have known 

 creameries that were troubled with metallic flavor which dis- 

 appeared when they discontinued pasteurization. Cream coming 

 in contact with vats, coils or cans from which the tin has been 

 removed may develop a metallic flavor as a result of this. How- 

 ever, when we take into consideration that metallic flavor is a 

 seasonal condition, the theory of rusty cans or the partial 

 removal of tin from vats or coils does not offer a complete explan- 

 ation, as creamerymen use the same cans and vats during the 



