74 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVI. No. 392 



the STiet and other fats of the beef and hog a fat deprived of 

 the larger part of its more solid constituents, viz., stearine 

 and palmitine, whereby a product is obtained that resembles 

 butter-fat in certain properties. 



The aim of the manufacturer is to so combine the oleo oil, 

 neutral lard, and cottonseed oil with a certain small portion 

 of creamery butter or cream as to produce an artificial butter 

 having the appearance and taste of the natural product as 

 closely as possible. There are several grades manufactured, 

 containing a greater or lesser amount of genuine butter, 

 vehich determines the price. 



Sir F. A. Abel, C.B., F.E.S., in his testimony before the 

 English Committee, stated that the process employed in one of 

 the most extensive works in Holland was briefly as follows: — 



" A quantity of milk is churned for a short time, together 

 with a sweet oil, such as that known as groundnut oil or 

 sesame oil; a quantity of oleomargarine equal to about half 

 the weight of the other ingredients is then added to this 

 churned mixture; and the churning is then continued, at 

 about 80° or 90" F., for about a quarter of an hour. In most 

 cases, in order to give the true butter flavor to the butterine 

 to a greater extent than can be obtained by the use of the 

 milk alone, a proportion of a very strong-flavored butter, 

 either Danish or Dutch, is added toward the close of the 

 churning. When the mixture has been sufficiently churned, 

 it is allowed to flow out of the churn in a stream, which 

 meets a stream of ice-cold water. The sudden refrigeration 

 of the mixture which I have described has the eft'ect of pre- 

 venting any crystalline formation, or the formation of crys- 

 talline particles, and produces a granular structure quite 

 similar to the structure of ordinary butter. I should state 

 that a small quantity of what is known as butter-coloring 

 matter, or annotto (which is the coloring-matter used gen- 

 erally in the coloring of genuine butter of different descrip- 

 tions), is added before the churning is completed. The but- 

 ter-like substance which is obtained by the refrigerating 

 action to which I have alluded, is passed between rolls, with 

 the addition of a suflicient quantity of salt to render it thor- 

 oughly palatable and to preserve it; and the butterine is sub- 

 mitted to the usual finishing operation for sale in the market. 



" Oleomargarine is the product of a treatment of what is 

 commonly called sweet beef fat; that is to say, the fat from 

 beef is carefully looked over in order to see that no tainted 

 portions remain. It is then submitted to a crushing process 

 in order that the membrane may afterwards more readily 

 separate from the fat. It is submitted to melting, and al- 

 lowed to subside for some time, so as to separate the pure fat 

 from the membrane. The pure fat is then drawn off, and, 

 when perfectly clear, is allowed to cool, until the mixture is 

 rather more than semi-solid ; and in that condition it is 

 placed between cloths in a condition somewhat similar to 

 marrow, and submitted to very powerful pressure. The hard 

 portion of the fat remains behind as stearine, and the portion 

 that is liquid at that temperature passes away, together with 

 a small proportion of the harder constituents of the fat ; and 

 that constitutes the oleomargarine. In butterine there is no 

 fat introduced except in the form of oleomargarine.'' 



American Methods of Manufacturing Oleomargarine. 



Thf> following ingredients enter into the manufacture of 

 oleomargarine as pursued in this country: oleo oil, neutral 



lard, some liquid vegetable oil (as cottonseed, sesame, or 

 peanut); butter in the higher grades, cream, and milk, 

 together with salt, and annotto or other coloring-matter. A 

 brief statement of the general system pursued in the prepara- 

 tion of the ingredients, and of the finished products, may 

 not be uninteresting. Very few of the oleomargarine manu- 

 facturers make their own oleo oil or neutral lard, and none of 

 them refine or crush the vegetable oils used in the lower 

 grades of oleomargarine, but buy them in the open market, 

 these materials being now well-established commercial pro- 

 ducts. 



The manufacture of oleo oil is generally carried on in 

 connection with the large slaughter and packing houses 

 situated in or near the principal cities, where every effort is 

 made to utilize all portions of the cattle slaughtered. The 

 caul and suet fats are removed from the freshly slaughtered 

 beeves, and placed in tanks filled with water at 75° to 85°' 

 F., where they remain from two to three hours before being 

 transferred to other tanks containing ice-water. By this- 

 procedure the fats are gradually deprived of their animal 

 heat, and the danger of their becoming sour is avoided, as; 

 would happen if the mass of fat was suddenly chilled by 

 being placed directly in ice-water. The caul, long, or 

 slaughter fat is kept separate from the suet fat, which yields 

 an inferior grade of oil. 



A Texan steer will yield, on an average, 65 pounds of 

 caul and suet fats, from which are obtained 28 pounds (45 

 per cent) oleo oil, 21 pounds (32 per cent) oleo stearine, and 

 12 pounds (20 percent) high-grade tallow. The chilled fats, 

 having been thoroughly washed to remove any blood that 

 may be present, are then sent to the rendering tanks. These 

 are generally in a separate building from the slaughter- 

 house. Fat from cattle slaughtered late in the afternoon is 

 generally kept in the ice-water tanks over night before being 

 rendered ; thus no fat is more than twelve or fourteen hours 

 on hand, and the great majority less than four hours, before 

 it is rendered. The fat is fed into choppers or hashers, re- 

 volving at a high rate of speed, from which it issues through 

 fine sieves directly into the rendering-tank. This is a large 

 steam-jacketed upright kettle of 2,000 to 5,000 pounds capac- 

 ity, provided with revolving blades driven by suitable 

 machinery. Steam being turned on in the jacket, the 

 hashed fat is fed continuously into the tank, and kept in 

 motion by the stirrer. When the tank is full and the con- 

 tents thoroughly melted, the temperature being 120" to 155° 

 F., the stirrer is removed, and the water and scrap allowed 

 to settle. The clear fat is drawn off from the top, and run 

 into the graining or seeding cars of 400 to 600 pounds 

 capacity, where it is allowed to chill. The temperature of 

 the room in which these cars are stored is maintained at 85'' 

 to 95° F. The fat, in chilling, naturally solidifies gradually; 

 the hardest variety, the stearine, being the first to form a 

 thin crust on top and sides. In from one to three days the 

 whole contents of the car will be ia a semi-solid condition. 

 This fat is free from all " greasy" taste. The car containing 

 the semi-solid fat is taken to the press-room, which is main- 

 tained at a temperature somewhat below that of the seeding- 

 room, viz., 70° to 80° F., where it is dipped out by ladle and 

 poured on a stout linen cloth, placed in a suitable depression 

 on a wooden revolving table, and, after the cloth is properly 

 folded so as to make a rough bag, it is transferred to the 



