Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-11-14
Dailp kennehfr Journal.
What is Flavor?

A question, saws the Dairy, which puz-
zles the dairyman, puzzles also the chem
ist. who cannot put his finger upon the
source of it. Is it in the food? Two cows
ted upon precisely the same food will give
each differently favored butter Is it in
the cow? A cow fed upon various foods
will give butter varying equally in flavor.
Is it in the milking? The same process,
operated by the same maker. will bring
forth butter which varies considerably
Then it cannot be in any one of these
alone, and therefore it must be in all OF
them combined. 1t is we'll known that
blue grass pasture. with corn meal. for
feed, will give the very finest favored
butter. That the fine clippings OF a blue
grass lawn, carefully cured while green.
will make delicious favored butter in mid
winter. At the same time the Jersey fan.
cer will be sure his cows produce the fin
est flavor; the Ayrshire fancier will say
the same OF his; while the dairyman who
has Devon cows will Justly say that his
red, comely animals beat both of them in
respect of fine flavor. And personally we
can say that the finest favored butter we
ever tasted was made % years ago in the
Western Reserve OF Ohio, from cows that
were native, with some Shorthorn blood in
them. But these cows had the finest of
grass, the best of water. and the
dairywoman who made the butter was
an expert. FlaN or is the effect of food ;
of the animal and of the making of the
butter. Moreover, it must be developed
by age. No fresh made butter has the
true aroma of the finest butter. The Ohio
butter referred to was more than six
months old, and in our own dairy for
gotten pail, which lay a year among
some empty pals. was said by the dealer
to be the best we had ever sent him, and
brought more money than the fresh-made
butter. But the development cannot take
place unless the elements required tor it
are present, and these we believe to be
good, clean, wholesome food healthy,
mature cows not far gone in cali, or newly
fresh perfectly clean milking; pure man.
agement of the milk and cream; perfect
churning; the complete removal of all
traces of buttermilk; the use of pure and
very fine salt working of the butter to in
corporate the salt and remove water; and
perfectly alright and clean packages.
With all these combined, the butter will
have the right flavor, although some may
have it more abundantly than others A
curious suggestion we find in French
dairy journal La Laitiere.) 1t is to flavor
the butter artificially just as we color it.
And why not? 1t can be easily done. II
the bad flavor can be given by garlic, tur-
nips. rye, linseed meal. cottonseed meal,
ensilage and other foods, why might we not
have mint flavor. pennyroyal, a chest
nut, rose, a celery, and other flavors, just
as we give to cheese by such admixtures, or
as are given to wines, or as were given
to the honey OF Mount Hybla of Hymettus
by the wild thyme and other fragrant
blossoms. So that as regards this matter
of butter flavor we are as yet not near the
threshold, and peradventure we may use
it to beat the oleomargarine and butterine
competitors in the same race they are
giving us.
~ When our contemporary states that
flavor of butter must be developed by
age" we doubt; that il is lost by age we
do not deny. Flavor is defined as the
quality which affects the taste. gratifes
the palate, relish. savory, as the good
flavor of butter or cheese, not the bad
flavor The flavor of new, fresh, made
butter, not that six months old, is what
pleases the palate of butter fanciers oday.
Ayr. Ed.