180 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



retard growth in all cases, and that the growth of some 

 organisms is not prohibited by 20 per cent salt. Strepto- 

 cocci are sensitive to salt, while micrococci and staphylo- 

 cocci tolerate a high percentage. Most of the yeasts 

 and torulse of butter are not easily affected by salt, yet 

 they cannot withstand as much as some of the cocci. 

 Brine with a salt-content of 8 per cent retards the physio- 

 logical processes of most organisms. Eight per cent salt 

 in the brine is equal to 1.12 per cent in the butter when 

 the moisture-content of the butter is 14 per cent. Thom 

 and Shaw ^ state that " species of Oidium, Alternaria 

 and Claudosporium cannot develop in butter containing 

 2.5 per cent of salt. The occurrence of any of these forms 

 in a sample of butter indicates low salting." They also 

 maintain that salt up to 2.5 to 3 per cent in butter is suffi- 

 cient to eliminate mold or reduce it to a negligible amount. 

 This is equivalent to the use of a 12 to 15 per cent brine. 

 This amount of salt is normal in butter. Thom and 

 Shaw ^ call attention to the fact that excess curd in butter 

 favors mold growth and that if the butter is properly 

 washed it is less subject to the mold. 



133. Enz3ntnes in butter. — The enzyme-content of 

 butter is probably not an important consideration, espe- 

 cially if the cream has been pasteurized. Rogers, Berg, 

 and Davis ^ list peroxidase, catalase, galactase, and lipase 

 as having a possible effect on the flavor of the product. 



1 Thom, Chas. and Shaw, R. H., Moldiness in Butter, Jour, 

 of Agri. Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, p. 304, 1915. 



' Rogers, L. A., Berg, W. N., and Davis, B. J., The Tempera^ 

 ture of Pasteurization for Butter Making, U. S. Dept, of Agri., 

 B. A. I., Cir. 189, p. 310, 1912. 



