St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-06-20
From Beef Fat to Butter.
THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION IN
AN oLEoMARGARINE FACTORY.

AN NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 1
The following from The Boston
Globe shows how butter is made
for Hub and home consumption
Brighton boasts of the largest and
best arranged oleomargarine facto-
RES in New England. Fresh beef
fat and suet, obtained at the abat-
toirs, is first placed in pure spring
water, of temperature of 55 deg.
Fahrenheit, and thoroughly washed
and freed from animal heat, the
water being changed several times.
It remains in the water tanks
twelve to twenty hours, and is then
thrown upon benches, where part-
cles Of meat and tissue adhering to
it are removed with sharp knives,
and the pure fat cut into small
pieces. It is then put in iiggers
large boxes on wheels-and carried
to the hashers, where it is reduced
to a fine pulp. From these it is
carried, by means of slide, to a
set of huge jacket kettles, capable
of containing about 1900 pounds
each.
a jacket kettle is a kettle within
a kettle. The space between the
two is filed with water, and the lat
ter heated by steam to $50 deg.
The fat, however, is never allowed
to reach a higher temperature than
1913 deg, lest its sweet principle of
glycerine should be destroyed. In
each Of the jacket kettles is au up
right shaft, with armor or paddles,
which is kept revolving while the
kettle is being filled, thus keeping
the fat In constant motion while it
is being melted. About two hours
after the kettles are full the shafts
are raised and the fat is allowed to
settle for about an hour. The oil is
then drawn off by what are known
as "draw pipes into another set
of kettles, and the scrap or tissue is
run off, by q trough, to tallow tanks
in another department Of the fac
tory. :
In the second set of kettles the
oil is subjected to q slightly higher
temperature and allowed to settle.
When perfectly clear it is run off
into coolers or seeding tanks, where
it remains from thrty-six to forty
hours. The process which takes
place in these tanks is the separa-
ton Of the particles Of stearine from
the oil or oleomargarine. It is then
stirred up, and, In liquid form
resembling light colored butter and
olive oil mixed wrapped in canvas
cloths, about 81 pounds to each
cloth. Eight hundred of these
packages are thus placed in the
press composed of fifty iron plates,
one above the other and. subjected
to hydraulic pressure Of 365 tons
to the square inch.
The oil or oleomargarine flows
through the canvas in amber-color-
ed streams, into large tank, from
which it is drawn off into tierces.
It then closely resembles melted
tallow, but is without flavor. The
stearine which remains in the can
vas is used principally for harden
ING lard. The 800 packages, weigh
ing about one ton, yield from 1900
to 17OO barrels of oil, and from BOG
to 400 pounds of stearine. The
pressing takes about one hour. The
tallow made from the trimmings
and from the scraps or tissue from
the first set of kettles is placed in
tanks and rendered. It is sold tc
leather dressers and soap manufac-
turers, and the scraps, which are
made into huge cheeses, make ex.
cellent food for hens and hogs.
To produce more perfect but.
ter, the oleomargarine, as previously
described, is placed in a churn, to.
gether with about rs per cent. O
pure, rich milk, and portion o.
sweet cream or fine creamery but.
ter. Such coloring as is largely
used in the best creameries anc
diaries is also added. IL is perfect.
" simple and harmless, being made
from the best salad oils, and The
color of the annato seed. tits ther
churned about thirty minutes, Al
the same speed as ordinary churn