FATS AND THEIR ECONOMICAL USE IN THE HOME. 9 
in many creameries the milk or cream is pasteurized to kill undesir- 
able organisms, and the ripening of the cream is started and con- 
trolled by the addition of a pure culture of bacteria which produce 
the desired flavors. Care must also be taken in the handling and 
storage of butter to prevent it from becoming contaminated with 
disease-causing bacteria or from absorbing undesirable odors or 
flavors. Such precautions, necessary to secure a wholesome product, 
naturally add to the cost of butter, but obviously from the standpoint 
of health are well worth the higher price. Butter of inferior quality is 
frequently treated by a commercial process which removes the objec- 
tionable odor and taste and then marketed as renovated or " process " 
butter. As many housekeepers know, strong butter can be made more 
palatable by washing it repeatedly in clean, cold water and then 
resalting; if the final washing is done in milk a better flavor is 
obtained. The commercial process of renovating butter is somewhat 
similar to this domestic process. The butter is melted, and air is 
blown through it until the undesirable flavor due to volatile sub- 
stances is carried away. The product is then emulsified with soured 
milk and worked like ordinary butter. Renovated butter sells for a 
lower price than fresh butter, and for this reason it is used quite 
extensively in cookery, and to some extent for table purposes. If the 
process is carefully carried out it is of good flavor. Naturally, the 
sale of renovated butter as fresh butter is prohibited by the Federal 
and State pure-food laws. 
Rendered butter, called "ghee" in India, is preferred by some 
people to ordinary butter. It is easily prepared by melting the butter 
with or without adding water and allowing the mixture to become 
cold, when the layer of butter fat is removed ; if desired, salt is added 
to replace that removed in rendering. 
CREAM. 
Cream, which contains from 18 to 40 per cent of fat, should be 
regarded as one of the available fats. It is generally used as a table 
fat, being served with cereals and fruits, as a constituent of ice 
cream, and plain or whipped with jellies or puddings. In rural 
regions, where the supply is large, both sweet and sour cream are 
commonly used for shortening, but to a less extent in cities and 
towns, where cream is more expensive. Cream is very palatable to 
most persons, and for this reason it is often prescribed by physicians 
for people who require a diet rich in fats. A form of cream more 
common in England than here, and known as " Devonshire Clotted 
Cream," is prepared by heating to about 180° F. whole milk on 
which the cream has been allowed to rise, cooling the mass, and 
skimming off the cream. It has a light-yellow color and a character- 
61287°— Bull. 469—16 2 
