Editor of "The Sanitary Record," etc.

Butter-making - Colour of Butter - Preparation of Cheese - Classes of Cheese - Soft or Cream

Cheeses - "Ripening" of Cheese

Butter and cheese, if not quite so important as milk, nevertheless are indispensable in every well-regulated household.

Butter is the fat of milk, the cream deprived of much of its water and casein. Good butter should contain from 80 to 90 per cent. of fat, 7 to 10 per cent. of water, not more than 2 per cent. of curd, one-half to 1 per cent. of salt. Less than 80 per cent. of fat and more than 2 per cent. of curd show inferior quality. Anything in excess of 16 per cent. of water constitutes adulteration under the Sale of Butter Regulations, 1902. It is, however, legal to sell "blended" butter, if clearly so described. The moisture in "blended" butter may consist of fresh milk, butter-milk, or water. Samples have been found to contain as much as 42 per cent. of water.

Apart from the fact that water and curd are non-fats, they are objectionable in butter, because they lower its keeping properties. Butter is a compound of several varieties of fats in union with glycerine. On decomposition setting in, butyric and other acids are set free, the butter becoming rancid, first acquiring a stale cheesy flavour, and later a distinctly acrid taste. In the latter condition it is unwholesome. The presence of the casein of curd, or of water, encourages decomposition.

The Addition Of Salt To Butter

In the manufacture of butter a little salt is always added, partly because it facilitates the coagulation of the fat, and partly to act as a preservative. Although the custom varies considerably in different localities, butter containing not more than 5 per cent. of salt may be considered fresh, from 6 to 10 per cent. second quality, from 11 to 15 per cent. salt butter. Excess of this amount is bad. As much as 28 per cent. of salt has been found in butter. Anything above 15 per cent. must be looked upon as a suspicious circumstance, for it generally denotes either that the butter has been made from sour cream, that there is an admixture of foreign fats, or that there is an excess of water. Salt helps to hold water, and also to counteract the bad effect of its presence.

The colour of butter is not a good test as to quality. Butter made from pure cows' milk may range from an ivory white to a rich orange. This depends upon the breed of cattle, but much more upon the food. A bright yellow, leaning towards orange, is, however, a sign that annatto has been used as a colouring. This is a preparation from a seed, quite harmless in itself, but sometimes adulterated with turmeric, chalk, salt, and alkali.

Butter is prepared by three main processes. The milk is placed to rest in open vessels, the cream which floats on the top is then collected and churned, whereby the fat is separated from the whey and curds. The butter first appears as small grains; these grow larger, are collected, washed in salted water, and formed into pats. Milk may be put in a separator, a circular machine which whizzes round, the butter-milk escaping through orifices in the outer edge, the cream being accumulated in the centre. This is then churned, or the whole milk may be churned.

In preparing cheese, the casein is curdled, the curd being removed from the whey. This whey is found to contain an appreciable amount of fat, and so it is worth while churning it. Whey butter is rather inferior in quality, and will contain rather a high percentage of curd.

Butter has a low melting point. It is therefore difficult to keep firm in warm weather. To keep butter, it should be wrapped in muslin and placed in an ice-box or under a butter-cooler. If it is put in water, the water should be frequently replaced. Butter quickly takes up flavours from outside, so it should be kept apart from strong cheese, vegetables, etc. Its low melting point makes it a difficult material lor frying as it burns quickly.

Butter is sometimes adulterated with other animal or with vegetable fats. The best quality of margarine consists of selected beef fat, carefully melted and manipulated to form a fairly palatable and very useful food. In some methods, fresh milk is blended with the beef fat. This is excellent for kitchen use. But it is inferior both in flavour and nutritive value to fresh butter, and so any admixture of this with butter constitutes a fraud. Margarine has a slightly insipid smell and flavour; its melting point is considerably higher than that of butter.

Cheese-making

Cheese is made with whole milk, enriched with cream, whole milk, and skimmed milk. The milk of cows, sheep, and goats is used, though most cheese is made from the first-named. A few varieties are blended.

Cheese may be divided into four main classes: hard, semi-hard, cream, and semi-cream.

In the first two cases the milk is heated to a temperature of 1800 Fahr., when rennet is added to convert the whole into curds and whey. Sometimes annatto or other colouring matter is mixed with the rennet. Coagulation usually takes place within an hour, when the curd is broken up, stirred and allowed to settle. The mass is then either raised to a temperature of 2000 Fahr., or a little sour whey is added. This is to encourage acidity. Or the curd may be gathered into a cloth and allowed to stand a little. Rich cheeses, the double creams, only have a little salt added at this stage; poor cheeses, from skimmed milk, have to be salted. The curds are now wrapped in cloths, put in shapes, and placed in presses. When they have quite set, they are removed to the curing-room.

Soft cheeses are really creams, clotted or otherwise. Acidity is not encouraged, and very little pressure used.

A good, rich cheese, Stilton and Gorgon-zola type, will contain less than 30 per cent. of water, 35 per cent. or more of fat, less than 25 per cent. of casein, hardly any free acid, and very little salt. A hard cheese, Parmesan type, will contain under 30 per cent. of water, under 20 per cent. of fat, 40 per cent. or more of casein. The poorer the cheese in fat, the more salt will be present, as a rule. Salt cheese, therefore, is usually a poor cheese. Skimmed milk cheese sometimes contains only 10 per cent. of fat or under. It is hard and brittle.

Cheap American cheese may contain an admixture of other fats, beef or lard. Such "filled" cheeses are deficient in flavour, nourishment, and keeping properties. "Filling" constitutes an adulteration.

Blue mould in some varieties (Stilton, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort, for example), although really a symptom of decomposition, is not considered detrimental to the quality or wholesomeness of the cheese. It is regarded as a sign of "ripeness." But if the cheese is very mouldy, blue or green, or full of mites, it should be rejected as unfit for food.

In order to imitate the signs of ripeness in certain cheeses, especially Gorgonzola, which comes with ageing of rich varieties, copper wires are sometimes inserted in "green" (or new) cheeses, the moisture acting on the metal, and resulting in the deposit of a copper oxide. This is unwholesome, and may even prove poisonous.

Rich cheeses which are only in their prime when "ripe" in the above sense should be used sparingly, more as a relish than as a serious item in the dietary.

The ordinary, furry-looking mould of dampness, sometimes appearing on cut cheese, is a sign of staleness. The piece of cheese should be rejected, or all parts affected removed. Mouldiness will produce fermentation in the stomach, and may even cause poisoning.

Cheese should be kept well covered from the air, in a cool place.

Most varieties of cream cheese should be eaten fresh, when quite sweet. But certain varieties, like the Neufchatel, require ripening.

Of late cream cheeses are manufactured with preparations of lactic bacteria. Although extremely useful in some forms of indigestion, these cheeses should not be partaken of regularly without medical advice.