BUTTER I Lat. butyrum, Gk. [from Scythian, probably] polisrpos, boutyron, from /las, boas, cow + Typos, tyros, cheese). A substance made from the fat of milk or cream by churning and working to separate the water and other con stituents. It has been known since a period prior to the beginning of the Christian Era, being used as food to some slight extent in early days, but mostly as a medicine and as an ointment after bathing, and sometimes for burning in lamps in the place of oil. The Greeks probably derived their knowledge of it from the Seythians or Thraeians, and the Romans from the Germans. Butter was first made from the milk of sheep and goats, and later from that of cows. It was churned in a very crude manner in skin bags or pouches and was evidently a very inferior article. It was not solid. but liquid, and is always spoken of as being poured out. The manufacture and use of butter as a staple article of food is comparatively recent. and in Southern Europe it is still sparingly used, being replaced in great measure by olive and other oils. In the art of butter-making the Danes have long oeeu pied a foremost place, and Danish butter brings at present a higher average price than that made in any other country. Denmark has become the leading butter-exporting country of the world, surpassing France. which formerly led in this respect. The exports of Danish butter in 1898 reached 160.143.255 pounds, valued at $34,575. 634. In the United States the production of but ter has made rapid growth since the introduction of the creamery system. and a product of high quality is now made. According to the statistics of the United States Department of Agriculture, the amount produced in 1899 was 1,430.000,000 pounds, valued at. $257,400,000.
Butter may contain a small quantity of salt, added to make it more palatable and to aid the keeping qualities, or it may be fresh (unsalted), as demanded by the taste of the consumers. Un salted or slightly salted butter is consumed large ly in England and in some parts of Europe, and the European countries in general salt their but ter to a less degree than is customary in America. The natural color of butter is a golden yellow, varying in intensity with the feed, the animal, and the stage of lactation. To make the color
more uniform throughout the year, a little color ing matter is commonly added in the making. usually some artificial butter-eolor (q.v.). The demand of different markets varies considerably in regard to the shade of color desired. Some South American countries prefer a deep orange or red color, and butter prepared for export to those countries is colored in accordance with this taste. The other qualities taken into account in judging butter are the flavor, texture or grain, and the 'finish' or general appearance. The flavor usually counts 40 or 45 points on a scale of 100. It is largely a matter of individual judg ment, the high flavor preferred by some verging on rancidity, while others prefer a mild, delicate flavor. The characteristic flavor should be well pronounced, and there should be an absence of rancidity or any extraneous flavors. The texture is the appearance when the mass of butter is broken in two or when a knife or trier is passed through it. Under this term is also implied the hardness or firmness.
The composition of butter varies considerably with the process and the conditions of manufac ture. According to the most reliable data avail able it may be said to be approximately as fol lows: Water, II per cent.; fat, S5 per cent.; protein (curd), ] per cent.: and ash (mostly salt 1, 3 per cent. The average of over 350 but ter analyses made during the World'- Fair Dairy Test at Chicago was Water. 11.37; fat, 84.7; curd, 0.05; and salt, 2.7S per cent. By far the most variable constituent is water, and its proportion very largely determines the per centage of fat in butter. The water content is quite largely within the control of the maker. It may run as high as '20 or 23 per cent.. and even to 45 or 50 per cent. in very exceptional ease,. In such eases. however, it has either been intentionally incorporated, or left there through carelessness. and is in the nature of an adultera tion. There seems no good reason vgc. with proper making. butter should contain over l5 per cent. of water or less than SO per cent. of fat. and this has been accepted as a standard in some places.