Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1936-04-10
EDIBLE FATS AND OILS.

OF the some billions of pounds of
fats and oils used on the table and
for cooking purposes in this country,
butter, lard and cottonseed oil top
the list. But we use. great quantities
also of corn, and peanut oil and in
the last year or so we have been us
ing more and more soybean oil. Con-
sumption of soybean oil in food pro-
ducts climbed from 3 million pounds
in 1884 to more than So million pounds
in 1885. Besides these homegrown
products, we import millions Of
pounds of coconut, olive, and various
other oils.
To the consumer, especially to the
housekeeper, says the Bureau of
Home Economics of the U. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture, such facts have
more than a casual significance. In
what form do these fats and oils come
on the market, and how do we use
them on the table? Butter and lard
are familiar. But what of the rest?
The answer, briefly, is in the headings
of three columns of figures in the Of
fetal report of the Census Bureau:
vegetable compounds and shorten
ings' which in 1885 account for more
than 1 IL billion pounds of edible
fats and oils; "oleomargarine,' more
than 306 million pounds; and "other
edible products" 1923 million pounds.
In those other edible products are in
cluded scores Of salad oils and salad
dressings, made Of one or more of a
dozen different oils.
The edible fats and oils come from
various animal and vegetable sources.
Butter, lard, and suet are animal fats
Oleomargine is made from either ami
NAL or vegetable fats and oils. Salad
oils and cooking oils are Of vegetable
origin. Some Of them are from the
seeds of plants-corn oil from the
germ portion of the grain of corn, cot
tonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil,
sesame seed, poppy seed rape seed,
sunflower oils-all these are from the
seeds of plants of the same name. Co
conut oil, palm OIL palm-kernel oil
and babassu oil are from the seeds,
fruit, or nuts of palms. Olive oil, how
ever, is from the ripe fruit of the
olive tree.
Butter to be legally sold as such,
must be made exclusively from milk
or cream, or both, and it must con-
tain not less than 80 per cent (by
weight) of milk fat It comes on the
market as "dairy butter" from the
farms, or creamery BUTTER from the
commercial creameries or butter fac
tories. Butter graded by Government
standards, through the service offered
by the Bureau of Agricultural Econo-
mics of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, is often sold in consumer
packages with Certificate of quail
ity," in each. showing the grade or
s'score'' and the date when the grad
ing was done. Any butter that is un-
clean or rancid is subject to seizure
by the Government and the shipper is
subject to penalty under the Food and
Drugs Act if the butter crosses state
line and so. enters interstate com
merce.
In the official scoring of butter for
quality, flavor counts As points, body
rs points, color Is, salt 10, package
Sin the total of 100 points. Unless
the butter scores 80 points or more,
it is not entitled to the Government
certificate Of quality. The certified
butter, however, if properly kept in
refrigerators, should be in prime con-
dition if used any time within two
weeks from the date Of grading on the
certificate.
Lard is rendered from the fatty It's
sues of the hog. It comes on the mar
ket as 'prine steam," "kettle rem
dered," "dry-rendered," "dirty render
ed,' or "hydrogenated" lard. Most of
it is prime staem, refined for the re-
tail trade
Suet is the clear white, brittle kid