CHAPTER II 



COMPOSITION AND FOOD VALUE OF BUTTER 



The composition of butter is largely fat. It may or may 

 not contain salt. A small amount of the milk solids not 

 fat are retained in the butter, and some moisture is in- 

 corporated in it. The food value is largely in the fat. 



THE COMPOSITION OF BUTTER 



6. General composition. — The percentage of ingredi- 

 ents and constituents in butter is not constant. The 

 various records showing the composition contain widely 

 differing figures. Table III on page 8 shows a few 

 analyses. 



The two American analyses are the most valuable, for 

 they are very comprehensive, being the averages of many 

 samples. Lee and Barnhart analyzed 574 samples and 

 Thompson, Shaw, and Norton give the results of 695 de- 

 terminations of composition. It should also be noted that 

 these analyses are recent and that the butter was not made 

 in one factory only, but in case of Thompson, Shaw, and 

 Norton's work, the samples were obtained from many 

 creameries in eight states ; and in case of Lee and 

 Barnhart's study, the samples were taken from the 

 butter markets of Elgin, Aurora, and Chicago, as well 

 as from many creameries in Illinois. 



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