162
Quality of Indian and Western Table Butters
Raven [1937] has shown that the flavour of butter is greatly affected by
its body and texture which subsequently depend on the technique of butter
making. Since all butter samples in this experiment were prepared by an ex-
pert under identical and ideal conditions, the difference in flavour cannot be
attributed to this factor.
The analytical results obtained showed a marked difference in the chemical
composition of butter fats of the three classes of animals. The most charac-
teristic difference is the higher carotene and vitamin-A content of the Jersey
butter over others. This difference could mainly be attributed to the greater
assimilation of the pigment (carotene) from the feed by the Jersey than by
either the Sindhi or buffalo. It has also been found [Eckles, Combs and Macy,
1929] that some breeds of cows, for unknown physiological reasons, transform
more of the carotene from the feed to the fat. Even individuals of the same
breed kept on uniform and identical ration show marked difference in carotene
and vitamin-A content in fact [Davies, 1936]. The Reichert Meissel, Iodine
and Cyanogen values obtained in this experiment really indicate the difference
in chemical composition of butter fats. The same is also roughly indicated
from the melting point determinations. Lowering of melting point generally
indicates the presence in higher proportions of the principal soft fats, like olein
and butyrin, in the butter fats.
The characteristic butter flavour is partly attributed [Eckles, Combs and
Macy, 1929] to the glycerides of the volatile group of fatty acids and of these
the butyrin is found to be the most important and delicate component.
It is quite probable, therefore, that the difference in fatty acids compo-
nent might account for this difference in flavour, which is ultimately due to the
different fat metabolisms of the individual breeds (the detailed analysis
of individual fatty acids in butter fats is under progress). Since in this ex-
periment the ration along with other external treatment was kept uniform and
identical in all cases (except in the case of buffalo where animals were kept un-
der slightly different housing conditions), this difference in individual fatty
acids, carotene and vitamin-A content, may therefore be attributed to the gene-
tical difference. However, judging quality from the existing arbitrary numeri-
cal standard of grading, the flavour of Jersey butter (which , however, was
short lived) scored higher over the Sindhi and Sindhi higher over the buffalo.
The lower melting point of Jersey as compared to Sindhi and buffalo butter
proved a lack of ' standing up ' quality in Jersey. Butyrin and olein are to a
certain extent responsible for flavour and are also the cause of softness in but-
ter. Jersey butter while superior in flavour, lacks " standing up " quality.
This is a distinct disadvantage in a country like India, as this would necessitate
the use of refrigeration to maintain the butter in a presentable condition to the
consumer. Firmness in butter cannot be incorporated, but flavour can
be improved artificially by adding butter culture distillate. Thus, if flavour
were the only handicap which prevented Indian butter being graded in the
same class with Western, it would appear possible from the researches of