22 MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



Browne gives the composition of milk-fat as follows with 

 the percentage of each of the fatty acids : 



Fatty Acid Per Cent of Total Fat 



Oleic 33.95 



Palmitic 40.51 



Myristic 10.44 



Stearic 1.91 



Dioxy stearic 1.04 



Butyric 6.23 



Laurie 2.73 



Caproic 2.32 



Caprylic 0.53 



Capric 0.34 



100.00 

 The non-volatile fats. 



It will be seen that the non-volatile or insoluble fats con- 

 stitute by far the greater part of the total fat in milk, possibly 

 varying between the limits of from 85 to 88 per cent of the total. 

 These fat-acids differ materially in their hardness or the tem- 

 perature at which they melt. Richmond gives the melting 

 point for the members of this * group as follows: 



Oleic 14.0° C. 



f 68.5 

 Stearic | to 



[69.2 



Palmitic 62.0 



Myristic 53.8 



The relative amounts of these fats are more or less variable, 

 and have a decided effect on the texture of butter. 

 The volatile fats. 



The volatile or soluble fats constitute only a small part of 

 the total fats in milk, normally from 12 to 15 per cent. Of 

 these, butyrin is .present in the largest amounts. Like the 

 non-volatile fat-acids, the members of this group also vary 

 decidedly in their melting points which are given by Richmond 

 as follows : 



