284 BUTTER-MAKING. 
with the understanding that it is rich in fat, much objection has 
been raised to butter containing an abnormal amount of water. 
This objection by consumers is, of course, a just one. The 
producers desire to incorporate as much water as is consistent 
with good quality. Butter containing a high moisture-con- 
tent, more than 18%, will appear dead and dull. It is sticky, 
and when sampled with a trier it is next to impossible to draw a 
full trier of butter. It shrivels and rolls on both sides of the trier’ 
Moisture affects butter in two principal ways, according to 
the way in which is is incorporated: (1) By causing leaky 
butter, and (2) by making the butter appear dull. 
1. This leaky condition in commercial butter is very common. 
It has been a common opinion among butter-judges that when- 
ever water appears in large drops on the butter, and some- 
what slushy when sampled, the butter contains too much 
moisture. This, however, is not always the case, as butter will 
not as a rule hold an excessive amount of moisture in that form. 
Even if this leaky butter does not contain an excess of moisture, 
it is a very undesirable condition, as most consumers object 
to this apparent slushiness. As has been stated before, this 
leaky condition is brought about chiefly by churning the butter 
to small granules, washing the butter very little in cold water, 
salting heavily, while butter granules are still small and firm, 
and working the butter frequently in the presence of brine. 
When moisture is properly incorporated in butter, it should 
be present in exceedingly minute drops. In a fine state of 
division it will not escape from the butter. 
This leaky condition of moisture in butter may give a wrong 
impression to consumers about its moisture-content. Major 
Alvord, Chief of Dairy Division of U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, reports that a great many buyers on the English market 
have the opinion that American butter contains an excess of 
moisture. This conclusion evidently has been reached on 
account of the water in American butter often appearing in 
this leaky condition, as described above. In reality it is low 
in its moisture-content. 
