Butter to be especially avoided is that which is "lardy," "oily," or "woody" in flavor. It should neither be oily nor "dry" in appearance, nor flecked, cloudy or streaked. There should be no holes or crevices in it—as these enclose moist air and favor fermentation. When broken, it should show a rough fracture—if it breaks smooth, it is deficient in "grain" —which in a majority of cases stands for richness of quality. When pressed, the moisture which exudes should be quite clear—if it is milky, it possesses inferior keeping qualities. The highest prices are paid for butter hand-worked, unsalted and very dry—under 11% moisture.
In buying by tub, it is well to verify the weight of butter obtained, instead of depending only on the classification of the tub as "5 lb.," "10 lb.," etc.
"Renovated" or "Process" butter is that produced by working over low grade or slightly deteriorated butter, by first melt ing and settling it, then skimming off froth and scum and discarding the curd and brine settled, freshening by strong currents of air, mixing in fresh milk inoculated with bacterial cultures, churning and then rapidly cooling. The butter is then drained, salted, worked (to remove the excess of milk) and packed or made into prints. In the hands of a reliable manufacturer, who refrains from using improper materials, the pro cessing of butter is a distinct advantage to the food supply and the product is very similar to "real" butter. As, however, there are differences in the nitrogenous com ponents it should never be sold or represented as fresh. In several states such sales and representations are prohibited by law.
An easy test to distinguish between fresh butter and "process butter," and also oleomargarine, is to boil a small amount, stirring thoroughly two or three times. Process butter and oleomargarine will boil noisily, sputtering more or less—like a mixture of grease and water—but will produce little or no foam. Genuine butter on the other hand boils with less noise and produces an abundance of foam.
To distinguish between process butter and oleomargarine, melt a sample and note the odor—in procdss butter (and fresh butter) the acid" smell will be very noticeable, but it is absent from oleomargarine, a "meaty" odor taking its place.
Butter is now generally classified as Creamery, Process, Factory, Packing Stock and Grease Butter—defined by the N. Y. Mercantile Exchange as follows :
Creamery:—Butter made in a creamery from cream separated at the creamery or gathered from farmers.
Process :—Butter made by melting butter, clarifying the fat therefrom and re-churning with fresh milk, cream or skim milk, or by other similar process.
Factory :-1Sutter collected in rolls, lumps, or whole packages and reworked by the dealer or shipper.
Packing Stock :—Original farm butter in rolls, lumps or otherwise, without additional moisture or salt.
Grease Butter :—All classes of butter grading below No. 3 Packing Stock. Creamery, Process and Factory Butters are, in the New York market, graded as "Special," "Extra," 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Packing Stock is graded as 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The very choicest butter is thus Creamery Special.
The word "Special" as applied to any of the three mentioned classifications is defined as requiring 90% of the butter so graded to conform to the standard, and the remaining 10% to be fully up to the "Extra" grade, the quality just below "Special." Following are the Standards of "Special" grades of butter : Flavor—must be fine, sweet, clean and fresh, if of current make; and fine, sweet and clean, if held.
Body—must be firm and uniform.
Color—a light straw shade, even and uniform.
Salt—medium salted.
Package—sound, good, uniform and clean.
Equally important with proper selection, is the care of butter after it reaches the store. A separate refrigerator should be reserved for it as it readily absorbs the odor of other articles, thereby losing its own delicate flavor and often acquiring a most disa greeable odor and "twang." Meats, cheese and some fruits, as cantaloupes, pineapples, etc., are especially detrimental. The refrigerator must be kept thoroughly clean, as otherwise it will itself spoil the flavor—and pine wood in all forms should be kept away.
In the sale of butter, clerks should be instructed to handle it as carefully as pos sible. In cutting tub butter, the aim should be to avoid "mussing" or mangling it— a clean cut slab is much more pleasing than when half of it looks like a collection of odds and ends.
Wooden butter dishes are not used as much as formerly, but where they are in favor it is advisable to wrap the butter in waxed paper first. The more popular method now is to wrap in waxed paper, then in ordinary wrapping paper.