PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



477 



6ize of corn grains. Both lots were salted 

 and worked to the same extent, except that 

 one was worked on a table worker and the 

 other in the combined churn and worker. 

 Eleven trials of this kind were made. The 

 average water content of the butter 

 churned to large granules was 13.89 pen 

 cent., and of the butter churned to small 

 granules 12.15 per cent. 



In other experiments the temperature of 

 the butter during working was also taken 

 into account. In each of a number of com- 

 parative tests cream was ripened, cooled, 

 and divided into 2 equal lots, both of 

 which were churned under uniform condi- 

 tions, and were otherwise treated alike ex- 

 cept that one lot was washed with cold 

 water and the other with comparatively 

 warm water. In 3 of the comparisons, 

 where the granules were of the same size, 

 an average difference of about 25 F. in 

 the temperature of the wash water made a 

 difference of about 2 l / 2 per cent, in the 

 water content of the butter. The softer 

 butter, resulting from the use of the warm- 

 er water in washing, contained, in every 

 case, the most water. In one of the tests, 

 washing coarse granular butter with water 

 at 45 degrees was compared with washing 

 fine granular butter with water at 70 de- 

 grees. The percentage of water in the 

 butter made in the 2 ways was, respective- 

 ly 14.07 and 17.50 per cent. 



These experiments show that the pres- 

 ence of salt, the size of the butter granules, 

 and the hardness of the butter are factors 

 exerting an influence on the quantity of 

 water in the butter. Where a dry butter 

 is desired, as for export, these principles 

 may have considerable practical impor- 

 tance. By churning cream at a low tem- 

 perature and continuing the churning until 

 the granules were as large as peas, wash- 

 ing for about 30 minutes with water at 

 45 to 48 degrees, and working twice, butter 

 was secured containing as low as 6.72 per 

 cent, of water. Of 32 analyses of samples 

 of butter made in this way, 7 showed less 

 than 8 per cent, of water, 7 from 8 to 10 

 per cent., and 10 from 10 to 12 per cent. 

 It is not, however, advised by the experi- 

 menters that export butter should be made 

 with less than 9 to 10 per cent, of water. 



THE OLDEST BREAD IN THE WOR.LD. 



The Egyptians placed their mummies in 

 carefully constructed tombs to await the 

 return of the soul, and often surrounded 

 them with jewels, flowers, food, and other 

 articles which it was believed the soul 

 would need in the spirit world, or on its 

 return to earth. When the tombs are 

 opened by modern explorers the jewels are 

 bright and the delicate and fragile flowers 

 are often marvelously well preserved, 



seemingly no older than the blossoms 

 sometimes found pressed in an old book. 

 The fruits which have been found in Egyp- 

 tian tombs, though discolored, have more 

 or less of their well known form, and are 

 easily recognizable as sorts which are 

 grown at present. The bread made in old 

 Egypt and seen in the museums today does 

 not appear appetizing. It is dark in color, 

 and looks as if it had been charred. It 

 seems hardly possible that anyone could 

 tell from what grain the flour used in mak- 

 ing it was ground, or whether it was leav- 

 ened with yeast, or made from only flour 

 and water. However, some Egyptian 

 bread made 4,000 years ago was recently 

 discovered by an explorer, and found its 

 way to the laboratory of a German scien- 

 tist. Upon examination under a micro- 

 scope it was evident that the bread was 

 made from ground barley. This could be 

 readily known, since the flour ground from 

 each sort of grain has distinguishing char- 

 acteristics. The barley cake had been leav- 

 ened with yeast, for the yeast cells were 

 plainly visible. The yeast was not of choice 

 quality, and the bread must have had a sour 

 taste, since the remains of other bacteria 

 similar to yeast plants were also found, one 

 being very like the microscopic plant which 

 produces butyric acid. The starch of the 

 flour, when baked so long ago, had been 

 largely gelatinized. However, a small 

 quantity of material was found which gave 

 a marked blue color when treated with 

 iodine. This was undoubtedly starch, for 

 it is well known that nothing else will give 

 this characteristic color reaction. The 

 bread thus contained some unchanged 

 starch ; and though the quantity was small, 

 it was just as truly food as any starch we 

 might buy today. The minute starch 

 grains, too small to be studied except with 

 a microscope, had remained unchanged 

 while empires passed away, and the baker, 

 and the king who ruled over him, had been 

 alike forgotten. The dark color of the 

 bread when found is possibly due to slow 

 oxidation ; that is, the oxygen of the air 

 slowly burns the material and it becomes 

 charred as it would if more quickly burned 

 by fire. 



It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to say 

 that the yeast plants seen were dead cells, 

 no longer capable of reproduction. Life in 

 all its forms seems limited in duration. 

 The dormant seed or the minute reproduc- 

 tive body of the yeast plant dies after a 

 time, just as surely as a larger tree. 



The statement is often met with that 

 grain found in ancient tombs has sprouted 

 and borne fruit. It is almost certain that 

 such tales are untrue, for no such results 

 have been obtained when the tests were 

 made by scientific methods and all chances 

 of fraud excluded. 



