196 SwEiiTijNKD Condensed Mii,k Defects 



a very cold room over night, so that the condensed milk is too 

 thick to run through the filling machine, it is best to warm 

 it up by simply allowing it to stand in a warm room. The prac- 

 tice of setting the cans back into the cooling tank and revolving 

 them in warm water is objectionable, since this stirring of the 

 milk, while it is warming, seems invariably to produce whole- 

 sale sugar crystallization, and therefore, causes the condensed 

 milk to become very gritty. (See also Settled Condensed Milk). 



Settled Sweetened Condensed Milk. 



General Description. — By the term "settled milk" the con- 

 densed milk man refers to condensed milk which has precip- 

 itated and thrown down a portion of its sugar, forming a deposit 

 of sugar crystals in the bottom of the can or barrel. This 

 deposit may vary in amount from a very thin layer to a layer an 

 inch deep or more, according to the character and age of the milk. 

 The nature of this sediment also differs in diiiferent cases of 

 settled milk. It may be soft, and upon stirring may mix in and 

 dissolve readily, or it may be very dry and hard, in which case it 

 sticks to the bottom of the can with great tenacity, and can be 

 removed and mixed into the milk with difficulty only. Like 

 gritty milk, settled milk is a very comrnon condensed milk defect. 

 Though it does not render the product less wholesome, it is an 

 undesirable characteristic. Such milk is usually rejected on the 

 market and results in a partial loss to the manufacturer. 



Causes and Prevention. — It is obvious, foi reasons above 

 referred to, that the conditions leading up to the production of 

 settled milk, are closely related to those that cause milk to 

 become gritty. Condensed milk cannot drop its milk sugar, 

 unless the latter is present in the form of crystals. The absence 

 of crystals then, means that condensed milk will not settle ; but 

 experience has shown that it is a practical impossibility to manu- 

 facture sweetened condensed milk which contains no sugar 

 crystals Sugar crystals are always present in it, and the fact 

 that the milk is not sandy or gritty, does not necessarily mean 

 that it will not settle. Nevertheless, the removal of conditions con- 

 ducive of sandy or gritty milk, diminishes the tendency of the 

 formation of sugar sediment. The succesful and uniform pro- 

 duction of condensed milk that does not settle, however, involves 



