250 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



the bottles should remain in the water at 140° F. for at 

 least three minutes. 



6. Add the meniscus-remover, which is a light oil 

 such as the best grades of separator oils. The original 

 oil used was glymol, known commonly under the name of 

 white mineral oil. This oil should be colored to aid in 

 reading. Alkanet root, which gives a red color, is very 

 satisfactory for this purpose. Approximately .5 c.c. of 

 the meniscus-remover should be added to each test-bottle 

 while it is still in the tempering bath and just before it is 

 time to read. Care must be observed in adding the 

 meniscus-remover. If allowed to drop directly on the 

 fat, the force of the fall will cause it to penetrate into 

 the fat. It should be allowed to run down the neck of the 

 bottle and from there it will spread over the fat and produce 

 a distinct and flat line of division between the fat and the 

 oil. A cream test should never be read without the 

 meniscus-remover. 



7. Read the fat from the bottom of the column as 

 noted under " Testing whole milk " to the distinct line of 

 demarcation at the top, which is between the fat and the 

 meniscus-remover. The reading of each test should be 

 made immediately after taking the test-bottle from the 

 tempering bath, for the temperature of the fat will soon 

 drop below 140° F. when held at room heat. 



8. Record the readings as each test is read. 



225. Sampling skimmed-milk and buttermilk. — These 

 products are easily sampled, for the fat globules in them 

 are so small that they do not come to the surface readily. 

 The most accurate way to obtain these samples is to take 

 them from the tank into which ether has been run. 

 However, in general practice they may be satisfactorily 

 sampled by occasionally taking a portion, in case of the 



