282 BUTTER-MAKING. 



tion. A small variation in the. components of butter affects 

 the quality very little, provided the butter has been properly 

 made, and the components properly incorporated. In the 

 same creamery the composition of butter varies according to 

 the season of the year, from day to day, and even from one 

 churning to another. According to the present methods of 

 manufacture, water, salt, and fat are the components most 

 likely to vary. Casein varies very little. 



Curd and Sugar. Occasionally the curd content may go as 

 high as 4%. It rarely exceeds 2%, and seldom falls below .5 

 of 1%. A high curd-content will show itself in the butter in 

 the form of a milky brine, or in the form of white specks. If 

 there is less than 2% of curd present in the butter, the brine 

 shows no noticeable milkiness. More than that much curd 

 can, as a rule, be detected from the color of the brine. 



If the casein or the curd has been incorporated in the form 

 of small lumps or specks, then abnormal amounts of curd 

 appear. When the sample of butter is taken for analysis, such 

 a speck of curd present in the sample raises the final curd-con- 

 tent to a comparatively high figure. 



As has been mentioned before, the curd and milk-sugar are 

 incorporated from the buttermilk into the butter during the 

 churning. In manufacturing butter for storage, these sub- 

 stances should be excluded from the butter as thoroughly as 

 possible. The milk-sugar and albuminoids constitute the chief 

 food for bacterial growth. As the deterioration of butter has 

 been demonstrated to be due chiefly to the action of organisms, 

 it becomes essential to restrain their growth as much as passible 

 by excluding food necessary for their growth. 



Salt. In the chapter discussing the salting of butter, it was 

 mentioned that a small increase or decrease in the salt-content 

 of butter can be recognized by most consumers, while the same 

 variation in the other constituents cannot be noticed so easily. 

 The average salt-content of butter is about 2%. As the amount 

 of salt properly dissolved in butter depends upon the amount 

 of water present, the first important step in controlling the salt- 



