The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-05-19
MOISTURE IN BUTTER.
ALHRky" Butter-The overrun-The
Maximum Commercial Standard.


BY G. L. MKAY and c. LARSEN, Iowa
Experiment Station.
Much American butter has in the
past been criticised by commercial
Judges on account of containing too
much moisture Qeaky butter. as butter
Judges term it,. when in reality il
showed by chemical analysis only
low percentage of water This is I'M
doubteGly due to improper incorpora.
ton of moisture. as much butter appar-
emily dry contains high moisture con
tent.
1t is also well known fact that the
amount of butter which is being made
from given amount of fat varies a
great deal at the different creameries.
Some makers are able to produce only
10 pounds of butter from 100 pounds
of fat. while some other makers are
able to produce 100 pounds of butter
of equal commercial quality from the
same amount of fat-thst is. some are
able to get an overrun of only about
10 per cent. while some others obtain
an ovcrrun of about 20 per cent.
The amount of overrun is the differ
ence between the amount of pure but
ter fat and the amount of butter man.
ufactured from that given amount of
fat. This difference divided by the
amount of fat and multiplied by 100
will give the percentage of overrun.
From the Consumers Point of View.
When viewed from the consumers
standpoint il may seem at the first i'm
pulse that the less moisture which can
be Incorporated in butter the better it
is for the consumer, for the simple rea-
son that it will contain more fat and
consequently more nouriShment. This.
however. is true only to Il certain eX-
tent Butter is not eaten so much for
the nutriment it contains as it is for
the relish it offers. and butter contain.
Ing between II and rs per cent of
| moisture is Just as relishing and pala.
table as the butter containing only
about or 10 per cent, provided the
moisture has been properly Incorporate
ed and the qualities are the same
, Water is an integral part of the essen
tial food constituents of butter, the
same as it is of all other foods, and
the percentage of moisture in butter is
7ery low
Foreign Commercial Standards.
/ 1t las been proved from different
| sources shat butter can contain about
| Is per cent moisture without injury to
its commercial quality aud with jus
tee to consumers. Germany has con
sidered 16 per cent of tat as the maxi
mum standard of moisture. England
/ as the greatest butter consuming coun.
| try has also recommended IL per cent
of water in butter as the maximum
/ standard, and the United States as a
I great butter producing country ought
! not 10 lower this worlds butter market
\ standard for moisture. If butter con.
/ tanning low percentage of moisture
J & to S per cent? We're demanded by the
| consumers 10 greater extent than
butter containing from IA to 16 per
cent moisture, then there would be
some object in keeping the amount Of
moisture in butter down to low
1 standard, as it is in American butter
today.
The Danisf. Butter.
The Danish butter. which is recog,
nized as being the best butter in the
worlds market. contains on an aver
age nearly Is per cent moisture. New
| Zealand and American butter is COM
paratively dry, and all other brands
except the Irish picked butter contain
! less moisture than do the Danish. In
the face of this the English people pre-
! fer the Danish butter at higher price.
The Danish butter is rot sold at the
top market price on account of con.
tanning an excess of moisture. There
are other qualities that make Danish
/ butter desirable, but it proves that a
high moisture content about IL per
cent? in itself does not necessarily in
jure the quality of butter.
From the Producers Point of View.
When studied from the producer
standpoint it is easy to see that if
through skillful means the average
moisture content of American butter
could be raised from u per cert to Is
per cent without injury to the com
mercial quality of butter a great add.
/ tional profit would be added to the dai
~ industry. 1t would mean about
three pounds of butter more per hun.
dred pounds of fat.
1t should be distinctly understood
that the writer's do not favor an excess.
/ i've amount of moisture in butter, hut
since the worlds best commercial and
scientific butter judges have fixed the
maximum standard of moisture in
good butter to be JIG per cent it is a
] matter of business for the producers to
come as near 10 this standard as posi-
| BILE.
Wisdom That Comes with Age.