^^ Illinois State Dairymen's Association. 



Uniformity of Product Necessary. 



Every butter maker's aim should be to produce butter that 

 will suit his trade. Flavor is the most difficult part to control. 

 Salt plays an important part, both in relation to quality and 

 overrun. As stated elsewhere, the general demand of the market 

 seems to be about two and one-half per cent of salt. Butter 

 made in different factories bought by the same commission firm 

 may vary 2 per cent. By all means salting should not be over- 

 done, but to a certain point it is beneficial to flavor and keeping 

 quality. 



Body is the backbone of the butter. There is little excuse 

 for a single tub of butter ever being made with that part of it 

 defective. It is always within our control. Why is it, that 

 today we hear some of the old butter men say? ''Is it impossi- 

 ble for some creameries to make that fine, firm, waxy piece of 

 butter that was once made? The cows are about the same, the 

 feed and seasons have not changed." Some are sacrificing the 

 body that they may sell more water. I have no sympathy for 

 the man who makes this a practice and much less for the one 

 who advocates it. 



This brings us to the subject: What is butter made of? 

 Is it known just what proportion of water, fat, salt, casein and 

 ash shall constitute a tub of butter? Do any of them bear 

 any direct relation to quality? This is a subject for investiga- 

 tors to settle and until then we must be content v\ making a pro- 

 duct that is sold on the merits of its quality. 



The law has passed the limit of water as 16 per cent. The 

 fat is the basis on which all creamery calculations are figured. 

 It is also the food value of butter. It is bought principally be- 

 cause it contains butter fat. It would therefore seem absurd 

 to place the legal limit on anything but fat. W^e hope that the 

 time will come when that change will be made. 



Every Illinois buttermaker should be interested in knowing 

 what he is doing with this valuable product every day placed in 

 his charge. Not only to see it made into butter of finest quality, 

 but each patron is credited with no more nor less than what is 

 his, that the loss in handling be reduced to a minimum. 



We have the Babcock test for the fat content and we have 

 the moisture test for water, salt also is within determination. 

 After all, the results depend upon the knowledge and applica- 



