The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1905-08-02
SOME BUTTER TESTS
METHODS 8YWHicH TO DISTINGUISH
THE GENUINE ARTICLE.

| substituted for butter and that rancid
and badly made butter is frequently
melted, washed with soda and churned
with milk for the preparation of reno
waited or process butter.
| Methods are, available which. with n
little practice. may be employed to dis
tingulsh between fresh butter. removal
| ed or process bu1ter and o,eomarga-
| rine.
The spoon test has been suggested
] as a household Test and Is commonly
used by analytical chemists for distin-
! gushing fresh butter from renovated
| butter or oeomargarine. A lump of
| butter two or three times the size of a
pea is placed in a large spoon and
| 1t is then heated over an alcohol burn
err If more convenient. the spoon may
be held above the chimney of an ordi
nary kerosene lamp. or it may even he
held over an ordinary illuminating gas
burner. If the sample in question be
| fresh butter Ii will boil quietly with
! the evolution of large number Of
small bubbles throughout the mass
which produce large amount of foam
| Oleomargarlne and process butter. on
the other hand. sputter and crackle
| making noise similar to that heard
when green stick is placed in Il fire
| Another point of distinction Is noted If
small portion of the sample is placed
in small bottle and set in u vessel of
water sufficiently warm to melt the
sample. The sample is kept melted
1,aIf 1, =.
Is examined. If renovated butter or
oleomargarine. the fat will be turbid.
while if genuine. fresh butter the fat
will almost certainly be entirely clear.
To manipulate what is known us the
Waterhouse. or milk, test about two
ounces of sweet milk is placed in
wide mouthed bottle which is set in
vessel Of boiling water. When the
milk is thoroughly heated a teaspoons
full of butter is added and the mix
ture stirred with. a splinter of wood
until the fat is melted. The bottle is
then placed in Csh Of ice water and
the stirring continued until the fat
solidifies. Now, If the sample be but
ter, either fresh or renovated, it will
be solidilied in a. granular condition
and distributed through the milk in
small particles If, on the other hand,
the sample consists of oieomargar.ne
it solidifies practically in one piece and
may be lifted by the stirrer from tie
milk.
Many persons believe that the great
mass of the fresh meat sold on the
market is preserved chemically. This
impression is entirely unf0undcd. The
cold storage facilities of the present
day make the use of personalities
with fresh meat unnecessary, and the
larger packing houses do not employ
them. 1t sometimes happens that local
butchers sprinkle preservatives over
cut of meat in order that they may
keep it exposed on the block or hang
ing in a show window as an adver-
tsement. The use of chemical pre-
seryatlves with fresh meat is confined
to This practice alone.
Personalities are very commonly
used With chopped meats and sausages,
especially fresh sausage They are al |
ways employed with canned Vienna
and Frankfurtcr sausagcs inclosed in |
castings with tie ends tied. Where the |
ends are cut personalities may be alb
sent. The reason for this is that the |
temperature required for the complete |
sterilization of sausages will either |
burst or distort the skins when the |
ends are tied, whereas sausages with |
cut ends afford an opportunity for the |
escape of the water and steam.
With many varieties of sausages. |
both fresh and smoked. and with chop |
ped meats OF all descriptions. coloring |
matter is sometimes employed. This is |
done partly for the purpose Of satisfy |
ing an unnatural demand for high |
colored article and partly sometimes to |
conceal the grayish color characteristic |
of old meat. which should not be used !
at all.
The preservatives employed with
meat products are boric acid. borax |
and sulphltes. To detect boric acid |
about a tablespoonful Of the chopped
meat is thoroughly n.eerated with
little water pressed through a bag and
two or three tabespoonfuls Of the
liquid placed in sauce dish with ff-
teen or twenty drops of strong hydro
chloric acid for each Tablespoonful. The
liquid is then filtered through filter pa
per and a piece of tumeric paper dip
ped into 1t and dried near lamp or
stove. If boric acid or bOraX were used
for preserving the samp.e the tumeric
paper should be changed To n bright
cherry red color If too much hydro
chlorlc acid has been employed a dirty
brownish red color is obtained. which
interferes with the coior due TO the
presence of boric acid. Now. If drop
of household ammonia be added to the
colored tumeric paper and it turns a
dark green, almost black color. then
boric acid is present II the reddish
color, however, was caused by the use
of too much hydrochloric acid, this
green color does not form.
The corrosive nature of hydrochloric
acid must not be lost sight of. 1t must
not be allowed TO touch the flesh.
clothes or any metal.-New York rrib-
une.