SALTING AND WORKING OP BUTTER. 257 



varies, therefore, according to the conditions mentioned below, 

 and also according to local conditions. Usually from half 

 an ounce to one and a half ounces of salt per pound of butter- 

 fat is most suitable. In whole-milk creameries the salt is 

 often estimated per hundredweight or per thousand pounds of 

 milk. 



To get the butter salted uniformly from day to day is very 

 important, as a small variation in the salt-content has a greater 

 effect upon the quahty of butter than has a small variation 

 in any of the other butter constituents. A variation of 1% 

 to 2% in the salt-content can very easily be detected by the 

 consumer, while that much variation in any one of the other 

 constituents could not be readily noticed. 



The conditions upon which the proper amount of salt 

 depend are: First, the amount and condition of moisture in 

 the butter at the time the salt is added. If there is a great 

 deal of loose moisture in the butter, more salt is necessary. 

 This is due to the fact that the salt will go into solution in the 

 water and be expressed during working. Secondly, it depends 

 upon the amount of working the butter receives, and at what 

 time the bulk of working is done, after the salt has been added. 

 If the butter is medium firm, moisture in the form of brine 

 is being expressed during the working. Consequently, the more 

 butter is worked, up to a certain limit, the more brine is being 

 expressed, and the more salt should be added to the butter. 

 Thirdly, the amount of salt to add depends also upon the size 

 of the butter granules at the time the salt is being added, and 

 the hardness and softness of the butter. If the granules are 

 very small and quite hard, they take salt with difficulty. The 

 salt attracts also more moisture from these small granules than 

 from larger ones, which will escape in the form of brine. 

 If the butter is present in a rather soft, lumpy condition at 

 the time the salt is added, and there is no water in the churn, 

 very Httle salt is wasted in the form of brine, consequently 

 less salt is necessary in the first place. 



It is undoubtedly due to these facts that the salt-content 



