Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1906-02-01
GENUINE BUTTER.
Methods by Which the Real
Product Can be Dis
tinguished.
Many Other Tests to Detect
Spurious Foods on the
Market


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 a
! little practice, may be employed to dis
tinguiSh between fresh butter, renovat-
| ed or process butter and oleomarga-
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 oleomargarine. A lump of
butter two or three times the size Of
! pea is placed in large spoon and
| 1t Ii then heated over an alcohol burn
er. II more convenient, the spoon may
be held above the chimney of an ordi-
| nary kerosene lamp, or it may even be
held over an ordinary illuminating gas
burner II the sample in question he
+! fresh butter 1t will boil quietly with
the evolution OF a large number of
| small bubbles throughout the mass
| which produce a large amount of foam.
the other hand, sputter and crackle,
making a noise similar to that heard
| when green stick is placed in fire.
! Another point of distinction Is noted if
small portion Of the sample is placed
in small bottle and set in vessel Of
water sufficiently warm to melt the
sample. The sample is kept melted
m n fr, hon ,bn,,
! IL examined. Ii renovated butter or
| oleomargarine. the fat will be turbid,
| while il genuine, fresh butter the fat
will almost certainly be entirely clear.
To manipulate what is known as the
Warehouse, or milk, test about two
| ounces Of sweet milk is placed in
| wide mouthed bottle. which Is set in
a vessel Of boiling water. When the
| milk is thoroughly heated a teaspoon
| full Of butter Is added and the mix
| ture stirred with splinter of wood
until the fat Is melted The bottle is
then placed in dish of Ice water and
the stirring continued until the fat
! s0lidifies. Now, il the sample be but
ter, either fresh or renovated, it will
be soliditied in granular condition
and distributed through the milk in
small particles. If, on the other hand,
the sample consists Of oleomargarine
it soiidifies practically in one piece and
may be lifted by the stirrer from the
| milk
| Many persons believe that the great
mass of the fresh meat sold on the
market is preserved chemically. This
impression is entirely unfounded. The
cold storage facilities Of the present
day make the use OF personalities
with fresh meat unnecessary, and the
1 larger packing houses do not employ
them. 1t sometimes happens that local
butchers sprinkle preservatives over
a cut OF meat in order that they may
keep 1t exposed on the block or hang
ing in show window as an adver-
| tisement. The use Of chemical pre-
servatives 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 Frankfurter sausages inclosed in
castings with the ends tied. Where the
ends are cut preservatives 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 mang varieties Of sausa ges.
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
4 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
ut ALL
The personalities employed with
meat products are boric acid, borax
and SUPPLIES. To detect boric acid
about Il tablespoonful OF the chopped
meat is thoroughly macerated with a
little water. pressed through bag and
two or three tablespoonfuls of the
liquid placed in sauce dish with IF
teen or twenty drops Of strong hydro
chloric acid for each tablespoonful The
liquid is then filtered through filter pa
per and q piece Of tumeric paper dip
ped into 1t and dried near lamp or
stove. II boric acid or borax were used
for preserving the sample the tumeric
paper should be changed to bright
cherry red color. If too much hydro
chloric acid has been employed dirty
brownish red color is obtained, which
interferes with the color due to the
presence OF boric acid Now, IL drop
of household ammonia be added to the
colcred tumeric papersand 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 hydrochioric acid, this
4 green color does not FORM z
The corrosive nature Of hydrochloric
acid must not be lost sight Of Thrust
not be allowed to touch the flesh,
clothes or any metal.
Wanted Bright, honest, young man