BUTTER-MAKING 277 



to ooze out of the butter. When the water separates from the 

 butter, it is difficult to distribute it again evenly through the 

 sample. After repeated trials of several months we found the 

 following method of preparation to give the most uniform 

 results : 



Place the sample to be tested in a glass container which has a 

 fairly wide mouth, so that the sample can be stirred. A quart 

 fruit jar is useful for this purpose. Then hold the container in 

 warm water until the butter begins to melt. Remove the 

 container from the warm bath and thoroughly mix the melted 

 with the unmelted butter. In the laboratory a long-bladed 

 cheese knife was found very useful for mixing the butter. A 

 wooden stirrer should not be used, as it is likely to take up 

 moisture from the sample. The process of melting the butter 

 and mixing it with the unmelted butter is repeated until the 

 sample contains no lumps and the entire mass is about the con- 

 sistency of thick cream. The container is then transferred to 

 cold water and the sample thoroughly mixed as the butter 

 tools. There is a tendency for the fat around the outside of the 

 container to harden rapidly and force the water toward the 

 center of the jar. For this reason special care must be taken 

 to keep the butter scraped off the sides of the container and 

 thoroughly mixed with the softer butter in the center of the 

 jar. When the sample is all of about the texture of ordinary 

 butter, the mixing may be stopped. If the process has been 

 properly done, the water will be evenly distributed throughout 

 the sample and any desired amount of the latter may be removed 

 for testing. 



The above process is a modification of the one recommended 

 by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. The 

 Official method directs to shake the sample instead of stirring 

 it when cooling. In our tests we have obtained better results 

 by stirring. In melting the butter, do not use too hot water, 

 as there is danger of driving off some of the moisture. The 



