MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS AND OLEOMARGARINE.
MILK.
=Limitation of Name.=--By the term “milk,” unless qualified in some
way, is meant a lacteal secretion of the healthy cow, free of colostrum
and of standard quality. If the milk of other mammals is meant the
name of the class of animal is used in connection with the term, such
as ewe’s milk, goat’s milk, etc. Milk is one of the most important
articles of commerce and, by reason of its composition, high nutritive
character, and easy digestibility, it is not only the natural food of
infants but a most important food for children and adults. It is also
an indispensable food in many, if not most, cases of disease where
nutrition is impaired. In some cases life may often be sustained over a
critical period by the use of milk as a food where other forms of food
would fail of digestion and prove injurious instead of beneficial.
The United States standard for milk is found in Appendix A.
=Average Composition of Milk.=--Perhaps there is no food substance
which has been subjected to so many and such severe analytical tests as
milk. Hundreds of thousands of analyses have been made in all civilized
countries, not only of the milk of the individual cow but of herds of
greater or less size.
There is a great variation in the composition of milk in different
breeds of cattle and also in different individuals of the same breed.
For instance, the Holstein breed of cattle affords a milk with a very
low content of fat, sometimes as low as 3.25 percent, and in individual
cases lower. On the other hand the Jersey breed of cattle affords a
milk of a very high content of fat, sometimes reaching as high as 6
percent, and in individual cases very much higher. The content of the
nitrogenous element in milk is more stable than that of fat and the
common content of casein in milk ranges from 2¹⁄₂ to 3¹⁄₄ percent.
The sugar in the milk is usually the complementary substance with the
fat, diminishing in relative proportions as the fat increases and vice
versa. The average content of sugar in cow’s milk is approximately
4 percent. The content of mineral substances in milk is also quite
constant, being about 0.70. The ash contains the phosphoric acid which
is one of the essential food components of milk. A milk of fair average
quality contains 12 percent of solids and 88 percent of water. This
is an expression for milk during the various seasons of the year and
from all breeds and kinds of cows. The influence of season has much
to do with the quantity of milk produced. It is always greater in the
spring and summer months, when the cows are turned out to pasture and
the growth on which they feed is unusually succulent. The increase in
volume is not attended with a proportionate increase of solids, and
thus the percentage of solids in spring and summer milk is less than
that in the winter milk unless the cows are particularly well fed
during the winter on a generous diet, including large quantities of
roots.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--COW STABLES, MAPLETOWN FARM, SUMNER,
WASHINGTON.]
The character of the milk is greatly influenced by the environment
in which the cow lives. The stable in which the cow is kept should
be clean, well ventilated, and protected against extreme changes in
temperature, thus being cooler in the summer than the hot air on the
outside and much warmer in the winter. An excellent arrangement of the
stables to secure cleanliness and good ventilation is shown in Fig. 13.
Cows should be supplied with an abundant quantity of pure water and
should not be allowed access to stagnant pools when pasturing in the
summer. Every animal giving milk should be examined from time to time
by a competent veterinarian to determine, by the injection of serum or
otherwise, whether or not the animal is afflicted with tuberculosis.
Every animal infected with tuberculosis should be separated from the
herd and destroyed. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease and may
spread from a single cow to every one in the herd. It is still by some
authorities claimed that there is no authentic case of transmission
of bovine tuberculosis to the human system. Other authorities hold
that such transmission is possible, even if it has not been proven in
a particular case. Since experts disagree on this point the same rule
is applicable here as in other cases of the same kind, namely, where
experts disagree on a point relating to the public health the benefit
of the doubt, if any, should be given to the public, and the advice
of those experts followed which is the most radical respecting the
protection of health from infection of any kind. It would be difficult
to prove, for example, in any case of tuberculosis in man that it had
been contracted from the sputa of tuberculosed patients, yet because it
is possible, in the opinion of many experts, that such infection and
transmission of disease can take place, it is the part of wisdom to
guard against it.
It is, I think, a statement which will be accepted by all that it
is possible in this country to secure and keep a sufficient number
of healthy cows to give the milk supply of the nation. Therefore,
it is the duty of the state, either by municipal, state, or federal
inspection, to eliminate, as far as possible, and, if necessary, at the
expense of the state, every diseased animal from the dairy herd. The
farmer whose herd becomes infected through no fault of his can justly
claim a compensation for the destruction of his animals for the common
good. There is, perhaps, no more important point connected with the
keeping of sanitary conditions than the proper inspection of the dairy,
not only furnishing milk for family use, but especially for sale. It
is the plain duty of every municipality and state to prohibit the
sale of milk to its citizens from dairies which are not periodically
and frequently subjected to the most rigid expert inspection. Such
inspection would not only secure the health of the animals but tend
directly toward the cleanliness of the dairy. Only by the exercise of
unusual care is it possible to keep milk from becoming contaminated.
=Preparation of Milk.=--Every part of the animal, especially the
udders, should be kept scrupulously clean by proper currying and
washing. The milk should be collected in vessels with as small an
orifice as possible. As soon as drawn the milk should be strained and
artificially cooled to a temperature of at least 50 degrees F., if not
lower. A convenient apparatus for cooling the milk is shown in Fig.
14. In this condition, without being exposed to infection and being
protected from every point by closed vessels, stoppered when necessary
by sterilized cotton, the milk is conducted into sterilized bottles and
again stoppered with a sterilized cork of some description. The milk is
kept cold until delivered to the consumer and by the consumer should
be kept cold until used. By following these precautions it is possible
to deliver a pure, wholesome, unpasteurized milk in a condition which
keeps practically unchanged for even a longer period than twenty-four
hours.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--APPARATUS FOR COOLING MILK.]
=Certified Milk.=--Dairies which are inspected either by operation
of the law or, voluntarily, by a competent body of medical and
scientific experts duly authorized to make such inspection furnish to
the market what is known as certified milk. Each bottle of this milk
bears the stamp of certification and this stamp may be used from the
time of one inspection until a certain date specified on the stamp
when the next inspection takes place. The duty of the inspectors is
to see that diseased animals are at once removed from the dairy, that
the sanitary conditions of the stable are perfect, that the food is
abundant and wholesome, that the milking process is conducted according
to the principles above outlined, and that the proper precautions are
taken to prevent infection during the preparation of the milk for the
market. The milk should be examined chemically and bacteriologically at
each inspection, or oftener, to see that it is of a standard quality,
both in respect of the number and character of the organisms which
it contains and of its chemical constituents. Certified milk is, of
course, more expensive than non-certified, inasmuch as the dairy is
necessarily called upon to bear the expense of inspection. However, the
superior quality of such milk and its certain freedom from infection
more than offsets the increased price, and makes certified milk the
ideal food of a milk character, not only in the family, but especially
in the hospitals, orphan asylums and other public institutions. It
seems quite certain that in the near future practically all the milk
that is sold upon the market of the country will be of a certified
quality.
=Pasteurized Milk.=--When milk is heated to a temperature of about
140 to 160 degrees the greater part of the living organisms contained
therein are destroyed. At the same time the temperature is not high
enough to give to the milk that peculiar taste which it acquires when
boiled. Such pasteurized milk, placed in sterilized bottles, stoppered
with sterilized stoppers and kept in a cool place, will keep many
days and even weeks without apparent deterioration. Physicians and
hygienists are quite agreed that pasteurized milk is not so wholesome,
especially for children, as certified milk which has not been subjected
to a heat sufficiently high to kill the organisms contained therein.
The natural ferments of the milk, namely, the enzymes which produce
the lactic fermentations, promote rather than interfere with the
digestion of the product. The killing of the beneficial organisms of
the milk is only justified when there is danger of pathological germs
being present. Hence the pasteurization of milk must in this sense be
regarded as a substitute for inspection and certification.
There may arise cases where pasteurizing even of certified milk may
be desirable, namely, when from necessity it must be kept for a
considerable period before use, as on shipboard, and other places
inaccessible to a daily supply of fresh milk. Pasteurizing is also
justifiable in miscellaneous milk supplies, the origin of which is
unknown. It is safer, by far in this case, to pasteurize than take the
chance of consuming pathological germs.
=Pasteurizing of Milk.=--A convenient method of pasteurizing milk is
recommended by the Dairy Division of the Department of Agriculture,
which is as follows:
=Directions for the Pasteurization of Milk=.[20]--The pasteurization
of milk for children, now quite extensively practiced in order to
destroy the injurious germs which it may contain, can be satisfactorily
accomplished with very simple apparatus. The vessel containing the
milk, which may be the bottle from which it is to be used or any other
suitable vessel, is placed inside of a larger vessel of metal, which
contains water. If a bottle, it is plugged with absorbent cotton, if
this is at hand, or in its absence other clean cotton will answer. A
small fruit jar loosely covered may be used instead of a bottle. The
requirements are simply that the interior vessel shall be raised about
half an inch above the bottom of the other, and that the water shall
reach nearly or quite as high as the milk. The apparatus is then
heated on a range or stove until the water reaches a temperature of 155
degrees Fahrenheit, when it is removed from the heat and kept tightly
covered for half an hour. The milk is rapidly cooled without removing
it from its containers and kept in a cool place. It may be used any
time within twenty-four hours. A temperature of 150 degrees maintained
for half an hour is sufficient to destroy any germs likely to be
present in the milk, in cold weather, or when it is known that the milk
reaches the consumer soon after milking, and it is generally safe to
adopt this limit. It is found in practice that raising the temperature
to 155 degrees and then allowing the milk to stand in the heated water
for half an hour insures the proper temperature for the required time.
If the temperature is raised above 155 degrees the taste and quality of
the milk will be affected.
[20] By Dr. De Schweinitz.
Inasmuch as the milk furnished to consumers in large cities in summer
contains at the time of delivery an immense number of miscellaneous
bacteria, this procedure may not fully meet the requirements during
hot weather, not only because such milk will not remain sweet for
twenty-four hours unless kept in a good refrigerator, but also because
the bacteria not destroyed by the heating may at times produce
digestive disturbances in the very young. Under such circumstances it
is best to keep the bottles in the water until it boils or to use one
of the many steamers now on the market. After the bottles have been
kept at the boiling point for three to five minutes (or longer if they
are large) they should be cooled as promptly as possible and kept in a
refrigerator until used.
The simplest plan is to take a tin pail and invert a perforated tin
pie-plate in the bottom, or have made for it a removable false bottom
perforated with holes and having legs half an inch high to allow
circulation of the water. The milk-bottle is set on this false bottom,
and sufficient water is put into the pail to reach the level of the
surface of the milk in the bottle. A hole may be punched in the cover
of the pail, a cork inserted, and a chemical thermometer put through
the cork, so that the bulb dips into the water. The temperature can
thus be watched without removing the cover. If preferred, an ordinary
dairy thermometer[21] may be used and the temperature read from time to
time by removing the lid. This is very easily arranged, and is just as
satisfactory as the patented apparatus sold for the same purpose. Any
other simple method of procedure will give the same result.
[21] Before using the dairy thermometer it is best to have it tested,
as it may be unreliable in the upper parts of the scale.
_Average Content of Fat in American Milk._--From the thousands of
analyses of American milks that have been made it appears that the
average content of fat therein is about 3.90 percent. Of the different
breeds of cows the Holsteins produce milk with the least content of fat
and the Jerseys with the greatest. It is not unusual to find in the
milk of a Jersey cow a content of 6 or 7 percent of fat.
=Comparison of Cow’s Milk with Other Varieties.=--Human milk differs
from milk chiefly in having a much lower content of casein and a higher
content of milk sugar. Goat’s milk has a higher content of casein than
milk, somewhat higher content of fat, and slightly less sugar. Ewe’s
milk is very rich both in protein and fat. Mare’s has a low casein and
fat content and is exceptionally rich in sugar. Ass’s milk has less
casein and protein than milk but more sugar.
=Cream.=--When milk is allowed to stand for some hours in a cool place
or when it is mechanically treated in a separator the fat particles,
being of a less specific gravity, are separated, and when they reach a
certain degree of consistence they form a product known as cream. The
quantity of fat in cream varies according to the method of separation.
On standing for a period of about twelve hours in a cool place the
separated cream may be removed by skimming and should contain at least
18 percent of milk fat. Under the action of the separator, cream of
a much greater content of fat is usually produced, often reaching as
much as 30 percent or more. The separation of cream mechanically in a
separator is preferable to the method of time separation by gravity
alone. The cream secured by the separator is very much fresher, as it
can be removed as soon as the milk is drawn and cooled. Its content
of butter fat can also be regulated to the desired amount and, in the
third place, a more complete separation is secured than by gravity.
By the proper manipulation of the separator almost all of the fat in
milk is readily removed. Cream should be kept under the same conditions
as has been described for sanitary milk. When placed in sterilized
containers, properly stoppered and kept cool, fresh cream will keep
sweet as long as milk under similar circumstances.
In large dairy industries the separator is practically the only method
now employed for securing cream while for farm use the gravity method
of standing in a cool place for twelve or twenty-four hours is the
commonly practiced method.
Cream is used on the table with fruit and cereal foods and especially
in beverages such as tea and coffee. It is also prescribed by
physicians for certain diseases and derangement of the digestive organs
where the nitrogen content of milk produces irritation and fails of
digestion. Cream is not a complete food in the sense that milk is
inasmuch as the other constituents of milk are less in proportion as
the percentage of fat is increased, yet cream contains at least a
part of all the food elements in milk, as, for example, nitrogenous
constituent, principally, casein, milk, sugar, and mineral matters.
It must be remembered in this case that the fat is the variable
element and as that is increased the proportion of other ingredients,
necessarily, is diminished.
The most important use of cream is in the manufacture of butter.
=Standards of Cream.=--The composition of cream varies with almost
every sample. The standards for cream vary in different states and
cities. The national standard requires 18 percent of fat.
=Skimmed Milk.=--The residue which is left from the removal of cream
is known as skimmed milk. Skimmed milk contains the principle part
of the nitrogenous constituents of milk, the greater quantity of its
sugar and a very large quantity of its mineral matter. It is still a
very valuable food product, lacking only the element of fat. When eaten
with nuts or other oily food skimmed milk would complete the ration and
make a well balanced food. The chief prejudice against skimmed milk is
that it has been so often sold for whole milk. When sold and consumed
under its own name it is not a fraudulent body and is deserving of a
higher place in the dietary than has been ascribed to it. In the large
creameries of the country the skimmed milk is usually fed to animals.
It is one of the most highly esteemed foods for pigs and poultry, and
is largely used for those purposes.
_Composition of Skimmed Milk._--Naturally the composition of skimmed
milk would be that of milk corrected for the abstraction of fat. It
contains some little fat when prepared by the gravity method and only a
very small portion when separated mechanically. The abstraction of the
fat increases the relative proportions of sugar and casein.
=Curd Test for Purity of Milk.=--The Wisconsin curd test is conducted
as follows: 1. Sterilize milk containers so as to destroy all bacteria
in vessels. This step is very important, and can be done by heating
cans in boiling water or steam for not less than one-half hour.
2. Place about one pint of milk in covered jar and heat to about 98
degrees F. (Figs. 15 and 16).
3. Add ten drops of standard rennet extract and mix thoroughly with the
milk to quickly coagulate.
4. After coagulation, cut curd fine with case knife to facilitate
separation of whey; leave curd in whey one-half hour to an hour; then
drain off whey at frequent intervals until curd is well matted.
5. Incubate curd mass at 98 to 102 degrees F. by immersing jar in warm
water. Keep jars covered to retain odors.
6. After 6 to 9 hours incubation, open jar and observe odor; examine
curds by cutting the same with sharp knife and observe texture as to
presence of pin holes or gas holes. Observe odor.
7. Very bad milks will betray presence of gas-producing bacteria by the
spongy texture of the curd and will have an off flavor.
8. If more than one sample is tested at the same time, dip knife and
thermometer in hot water before each time used.
“Normal milk contains practically no organisms but the straight lactic
acid bacteria. These germs produce no gas and no bad odors, but purely
lactic acid and the curd formed therefrom is such as is represented in
Fig. 17.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--IMPROVISED WISCONSIN CURD TEST.
C, Can used to hold sample; P, pipette for measuring rennet; K, knife
for breaking curd.]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--A, MILK; B, BROKEN CURD IN WHEY; C, MATTED
CURD.]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--CURD FROM A GOOD MILK. LARGE, IRREGULAR HOLES
MECHANICAL.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--CURD FROM A TAINTED MILK. LARGE, IRREGULAR
HOLES MECHANICAL; SMALL PINHOLES DUE TO GAS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--CURD FROM FOUL MILK.]
“Milk contaminated by the introduction of dust, dirt, fecal matter,
or kept in imperfectly cleaned cans becomes fouled with gas-producing
bacteria that break down the milk sugar and so produce gases and
usually undesirable odors.... Therefore milks showing the presence of
gas or bad odors in any considerable degree are milks that have been
more or less polluted with extraneous organisms or carelessly handled,
and as a consequence such milks show a type of curd revealed in Figs.
17, 18, and 19.
=Whey.=--The residue left from milk in the process of the making of
cheese is known as whey. Whey consists of that portion of milk which
is not precipitated by the rennet and which separates when the casein
of milk is coagulated and sets in the process of cheese making. The
whey contains the principal portion of the water in milk, the most of
the milk sugar therein, and small quantities of butter and soluble
nitrogenous portions (albumin) and solid particles which remain
suspended in the solution. It may, therefore, be properly considered
as milk from which the greater part of the nitrogenous portions and
fat particles has been separated. The value of whey as a food product
consists chiefly in the milk sugar which it contains. It is not
very largely used for human food but is valued as a food for young
domesticated animals, especially pigs and poultry.
=Composition of Whey.=--The whey resulting from the manufacture of
cheese contains nearly all the foods of the whole milk with the
exception of the casein and fat. It is composed of from 6 to 8 percent
of solids consisting chiefly of milk sugar, some albumin, a little fat,
and about 0.6 percent of mineral matter.
=Koumiss.=--Koumiss originated in Asia Minor in the production of a
fermented drink from mare’s milk, which is richer in milk sugar than
the lactic secretions of most other mammals. By the fermentation of
the milk sugar mare’s milk is converted into a fermented beverage
containing a small percentage of alcohol. In this country koumiss is
made almost exclusively from cow’s milk and by special fermentation at
a low temperature. It is a beverage valued especially by convalescents
and invalids and frequently is capable of nourishing the body in
diseases which affect the digestive organs when other foods fail of
assimilation. It is also a cooling and delicious beverage for those in
health when properly prepared and stored.
_Modified Koumiss or Kephir._--Koumiss made from cow’s milk with the
previous addition of milk or cane sugar to increase the alcoholic
content cannot be regarded as a natural product but rather one to which
the term “modified” may be applied. The greater part of koumiss made in
the United States from cow’s milk is of this modified variety. Cow’s
milk contains on an average about 4 or 5 percent of sugar and does not
yield a fermented beverage of a sufficient alcoholic content without
reducing the actual sugar content of the beverage below the point of
palatability. Cane sugar is usually employed as the modifying agent.
While modified koumiss cannot be regarded as of equal value with the
natural article made from mare’s milk it is a palatable and wholesome
beverage when produced and stored under proper conditions. The quantity
of alcohol produced in any case is not very great and the change in
composition which renders koumiss so easily assimilable in many cases
cannot be due alone to the alcohol formed but to the fermentative
changes produced by enzymic action which takes place in the other
constituents of koumiss, especially casein during the process of
fermentation.
Koumiss or kephir, which is the name applied to koumiss made from cow’s
milk, is also prepared with the addition of honey, in the place of
sugar, and small quantities of wheat flour, not exceeding 20 parts to
1500 parts of other constituents. Koumiss is sometimes artificially
fortified by the addition of small quantities of alcohol, but this
practice must be regarded as extremely reprehensible. The alcohol of
koumiss is incident to its fermentation and should not be increased
beyond the normal amount. One of the important points in the making of
koumiss is the control of the temperature which, during fermentation,
ought not to rise above 50 degrees in order to get the best results.
Koumiss may be made in the bottle in which it is kept, in fact, it is
best made so, and its fermentation then resembles that of champagne.
During the process of fermentation the bottle should be shaken at least
once a day in order that the part which coagulates cannot be unevenly
distributed throughout the mass. The bottle should be strong enough
to resist the pressure produced by the carbon dioxid which is formed
and the cork should be securely tied in. As in the case of champagne
it is best to place the bottle with the cork down. Before using,
the bottle containing the koumiss should be well shaken in order to
thoroughly mix the contents which form a creamy, foamy mass extremely
palatable, highly nutritious, and valuable not only as a beverage but
in many cases of disease and disordered digestion as a food. In fact
the value of koumiss for medicinal purposes, that is for medicinal
food, is not thoroughly appreciated by the medical profession. This
may be due to the fact that the art of making koumiss is not generally
known, and while the general principles upon which its manufacture is
based have been set forth it requires an expert to make a palatable
and useful article (“British Dairy Farming” by Jas. Long). It is
worthy of suggestion now that the use of horses for draft purposes has
practically been superseded by the automobile and the trolley that the
production of real koumiss from mare’s milk might become a very useful
field of industry in the United States. It is perfectly certain that
the genuine article must possess properties which are not wholly found
in the imitations of koumiss which are so common in this country. It
is well understood by physicians that a natural product produced from
natural material is always superior in character both as a food and
medicine to the synthetic or artificial product. Whenever, therefore,
a fermented beverage produced from natural sources is contaminated
by artificial products the resulting compound is not so useful nor
digestible. For instance, wine which is made partially from sugar and
beer made partially from dextrose, although they may be healthful and
wholesome beverages, are inferior in quality and character to the real
product made from grape juice or barley malt.
=Buttermilk.=--The residue left in the churn in the manufacture of
butter is termed buttermilk. There are two distinct varieties of
buttermilk, namely, that resulting from the churning of unsoured cream
and that remaining from the churning of soured and ripened cream.
The first kind of buttermilk does not differ in its characteristic
essentials from skimmed milk and therefore is not considered here.
The second class of buttermilk is far more common and is a beverage
of pleasing acid taste. When made from properly ripened cream it is
wholesome and delicious, especially in summer time. Its composition
is that of cream subjected to enzymic action during the ripening
process by which an agreeable degree of acidity is produced due to
lactic acid, together with the incidental changes which take place in
the composition of other parts of the liquid due to enzymic action.
Buttermilk also usually contains small particles of butter itself
which escape aggregation during the final process of churning. In well
prepared buttermilk, however, these particles of butter are not very
numerous and they add nothing to the palatability, although they do add
something to the nutritive properties of the beverage. The buttermilk
represents that portion of milk which is one of the chief constituents
of cream as far as bulk is concerned, freed practically from its butter
fat. It does not differ greatly, therefore, in its chemical properties
from skimmed milk, although there is a slight difference in the
relative percentages of the milk solids in cream as compared with the
same constituents in whole milk. The composition of buttermilk is shown
in the following table:
COMPOSITION OF BUTTERMILK.
FROM SWEET FROM SOUR
CREAM. CREAM.
_Percent._ _Percent._
Water, 89.74 90.93
Fat, 1.21 0.31
Milk sugar, 4.98 4.58
Protein, 3.28 3.37
Ash, 0.79 0.81
Acidity, ... 0.80
=Bonnyclabber.=--Bonnyclabber is a term applied to milk which
has become soured by lactic fermentation, producing a gelatinous
coagulation of casein which is sufficiently firm at times to prevent
the liquid from being poured. Clabber may be regarded as a natural
cheese curd except that the fat is chiefly on top. It is a beverage
or food of a very agreeable taste to most persons and is often eaten
with sugar. In the summer it is often formed during hot murky
weather, especially of that character which produces thunder storms.
For this reason it is a common supposition that thunder or lightning
sours milk. The thunder and lightning, however, have nothing to do
with this process. The condition of the atmosphere which produces an
environment favorable to electrical disturbances of this kind also
favors in the highest degree the growth of the organisms which produce
the lactic ferments. Hence thunder storms and the rapid souring of milk
are frequently coincident leading to the popular impression as above
mentioned. Inasmuch as the souring of milk usually takes place after
the cream has risen the composition of clabber is practically that of
skimmed milk modified by the lactic fermentation which has taken place.
BUTTER.
When cream, especially cream in which incipient lactic fermentation
has been set up, is subjected to agitation in a churn under proper
conditions of temperature the particles of butter therein contained
are collected into masses so that the butter can be separated from
the residual liquid. This process is technically called churning. The
domestic churn in its simplest form is perhaps well known to almost
everyone, especially those who have lived in the country. In the
domestic manufacture of butter the cream is collected and set aside
until sour, that is, until lactic fermentation has set up. When this is
sufficiently advanced the cream is placed in a churn, the simplest form
of which is a wooden, cylindrical vessel of appropriate size, being
much longer than its horizontal diameter. The churn is provided with
a dasher, namely a perforated wooden disk with a handle which passes
through a hole in the cover. When the churn is charged the butter is
produced by agitation with the dasher. In winter time warm water is
added to the mixture in order to raise the temperature to the proper
gathering point of butter, namely 65 to 70 degrees F. For the same
reason cold water is added in the summer time. The art of the dairy
maid is shown in the proper regulation of the temperature to secure the
best results. When the cream is properly ripened and the temperature is
suitable the gathering of butter will be accomplished in from twelve to
thirty minutes. In unfavorable conditions the duration of churning may
be for a much longer period.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--POWER CHURN READY FOR USE.--(_Courtesy of the
Bureau of Animal Industry._)]
In dairies and large establishments churning is accomplished by
machinery with very different mechanical appliances, but the principle
which underlies the process is the same as those outlined above. The
accompanying figures illustrate the process of churning by mechanical
means in a modern dairy (Figs. 20 and 21).
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--POWER CHURN, OPEN.--(_Courtesy of the Bureau
of Animal Industry._)]
=Treatment of Butter.=--The crude butter secured by churning is
subjected to washing and seasoning processes in order to prepare it
for the market. The washing or working of butter is accomplished by
means of water. The object of this “working” is to separate from the
crude butter as much of the curd and other non-fatty constituents of
the cream as can be conveniently accomplished. The removal of these
mechanical particles not only makes a butter of a higher grade but
also one of better keeping qualities. The working of butter also has
much to do with its grain or texture, which is one of the characters
of butter to which great attention must be paid. The best grade of
butter and that which brings the highest price in the market is that
which receives no treatment other than that of the washing and working
process to which attention has been called. This kind of butter is
known as natural or unsalted or uncolored butter, that is, a fresh,
sweet product of an agreeable aroma, palatable, of fine texture and
grain, and is the best product of its kind for human consumption. It
also brings the highest price on the market and, by reason of its
method of preparation, the consumer can usually be assured that it is
fresh in character.
=Salting Butter.=--In the United States, especially, consumers of
butter generally require that it shall be salted. For this purpose
fine grades of dairy salt are used as free as possible from impurities
and consisting of fine particles or crystals which rapidly dissolve in
the residual moisture of butter. This promotes a uniform distribution
of the salt in the form of brine throughout the mass of butter.
The existence in butter of undissolved particles of salt is highly
prejudicial to its taste and character. The quantity of salt used in
butter is determined by the taste of the consumer. The more salt the
butter contains the less value it is as butter and hence the quantity
should be limited to the smallest possible amount demanded by the
consumer’s taste. Often butters are found in commerce which are so full
of salt as to be wholly unpalatable and there is a tendency on the part
of the greedy manufacturer to add excessive quantities of salt because
it is very much cheaper than the butter itself and thus he hopes to add
to the profit of the industry. On the contrary this practice usually
results in loss, since such highly salted butter naturally brings the
lowest price. The amount of salt which is used in butter should not
exceed two percent.
It is a common supposition that salt in butter is a preservative. This
is true when used in large quantities, that is, in quantities which
render the butter somewhat unpalatable. The very small quantity of salt
used purely for condimental purposes cannot be regarded as aiding in
any material way the preservation of the product.
=Coloring Butter.=--Unfortunately the practice of artificially coloring
butter is very prevalent in the United States. Practically all the
butter found upon the market, even in the spring and summer, is more or
less artificially colored, often with coal tar (anilin) dyes which, to
say the least harm of them possible, are open to suspicion in respect
of wholesomeness. The practice of coloring butter produced in winter
may be regarded as universal, though none the less reprehensible on
that account. The object of coloring butter is, undoubtedly, to make
it appear in the eyes of the consumer better than it really is, and
to this extent can only be regarded as an attempt to deceive. If cows
are properly fed during the winter months with wholesome, nutritious
food to which a small proportion of roots such as carrots or ruta bagas
are added or with yellow maize and clover hay, even in winter time the
butter produced will have an attractive light amber tint which appeals
strongly to the æsthetic sense of the consumer. The natural tint of
butter is as much more attractive than the artificial as any natural
color is superior to the artificial. There is the same difference
between the natural tint of butter and the artificial as there is
between the natural rose of the cheek and its painted substitute. It
is claimed, and perhaps justly, that the use of certain vegetable
colors, such as annotto, does not introduce any unwholesome substance
into the product. Admitting this, we must next ask whether it deceives
the consumer. If so, it is difficult to understand upon what ethical
principal any plea for the artificial coloring of butter can rest.
If it is admitted that there is no valid reason why butter should be
colored other than the artificial coloring of foods in general, which
is a practice so reprehensible that it is almost universally denounced,
its practice cannot be easily defended. The dairymen of our country
are honest and honorable and evidently do not clearly see the false
position in which the practice of coloring butter puts them. When the
dairymen of our country understand that the naturally colored products
will bring the highest price on the market and appeal more strongly to
the confidence of the consumer it is believed the artificial coloring
in butter will be relegated to the scrap pile of useless processes. It
cannot be claimed in any sense that coloring of butter artificially
ever adds anything to its value as a nutritive substance.
One of the claims for justifying the coloring of butter is that it
distinguishes it from oleomargarine. This, however, is not the case
since, under the law, oleomargarine may be colored upon the payment of
a tax of ten cents per pound. The consumer has at his disposition a
complete protection against fraud in the use of oleomargarine by the
operation of state and federal laws, irrespective of the tint of the
product. Oleomargarine and butter are distinguished from each other by
their natural colors and also by their chemical and physical properties
and, therefore, there can be no justification for the coloring of
butter on the plea that it distinguishes it from oleomargarine. Thus,
from every point of view it is evident that the artificial coloring of
butter is undesirable. It interferes with the right of the consumer,
who should know the exact character of the product he buys, and it
stands in the way of the prosperity of the manufacturer by keeping upon
the market a cheaper product which tends to decrease the price even of
that of better quality.
=Standard Butter.=--According to the standard established by Congress
butter must contain more than 16 percent water and not less than 82.5
butter fat.
=Renovated Butter.=--The law of Congress which controls the manufacture
of renovated butter is executed jointly by the Treasury and
Agricultural Departments. The quantity of renovated butter produced
during the year ending June 30, 1905, was 60,290,421 pounds.
=Adulterated Butter.=--The quantity of adulterated butter which was
produced under the authority of the Act regulating the manufacture
of oleomargarine and butter and on which is laid a tax of 10 cents
per pound during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, was 3,671
pounds. These data show that the tax of 10 cents per pound laid upon
adulterated butter has practically destroyed the manufacture of
that article. Normal butter has from 12 to 14 percent of water. It
is sometimes rechurned with water to raise the water content to 16
percent. Such a practice results in adulteration whether the content of
water exceeds 16 percent or not.
=Influence of Food upon Butter.=--The character of butter is very
easily affected by the nature of the food consumed by the cow. Butter
has the faculty of absorbing very readily odors of all kinds. Foods,
therefore, which have characteristic odors impart them to the butter. A
most striking instance of this is in the eating of wild garlic. In this
case both the milk and the butter are affected to such a degree as to
be in many cases unpalatable. Hence foods or substances in foods which
are aromatic or odoriferous are likely to impart their peculiar odor to
the milk, cream, and butter. Of all the constituents of milk the fat
appears to have the highest faculty of absorbing these objectionable
odors. Therefore, the feeding of distillery slops is also apt to impart
an unpleasant odor to milk and butter, whereas if these slops be dried
and their volatile aromatic principle expelled little discomfort is
experienced in their use. The physical characteristics of butter are
also changed in a marked degree by the character of the food. Butter
fat, as has already been indicated, is distinguished from other animal
fats by its content of soluble and volatile acids of which butyric is
the chief. There are certain kinds of foods which decrease or tend to
decrease the content of butyric acid in butter.
=Influence on Melting Point.=--The character of the food also has a
marked influence upon the melting point of butter. The author showed
many years ago that the use of cottonseed meal as food for cows tends
to raise the melting point of butter. This was regarded as an index
of some value for the southern portion of the country, where a high
temperature obtains over a period of six or seven months of the year.
If the melting point of butter, which when normal is about 33 degrees
C. (91° F.), could be increased to 35 or 36 degrees C. (95° F.), it
would be of immense advantage in these warm climates and, in fact,
in all parts of the country during the months of July, August, and
September. There is no apparent tendency to increase the melting point
of butter by feeding other oil cakes.
=Transmission of Other Principles in the Food to the
Butter.=--Experience has shown that when cows are fed cottonseed meal
or its products the quality of cottonseed oil which responds to the
color test known as the Halphen test, namely, the production of a red
color with carbon disulfid and amyl alcohol, is transmitted also to
the butter. In some cases this reaction is extremely faint while in
others it is displayed with an intensity which is claimed by some to be
equal to that of the admixture of 5 percent of cottonseed oil with the
butter. The use of cottonseed meal, on the contrary, does not seem to
notably affect either the content of volatile acid in the butter nor
its refractometer reading. (Experimental Station Record, Volume 25,
Page 716.)
OLEOMARGARINE.
Oleomargarine is the name applied to any fatty substance which is
prepared to be used in the same manner as butter. Oleomargarine is
defined by Act of Congress as follows:
An Act defining butter, also imposing a tax upon and regulating the
manufacture, sale, importation, and exportation of oleomargarine.
(Approved August 2, 1886.)
“That for the purposes of this act certain manufactured substances,
certain extracts, and certain mixtures and compounds, including such
mixtures and compounds with butter, shall be known and designated
as “oleomargarine,” namely: All substances heretofore known as
oleomargarine, oleo, oleomargarine oil, butterine, lardine, suine,
and neutral; all mixtures and compounds of oleomargarine, oleo,
oleomargarine oil, butterine, lardine, suine, and neutral; all lard
extracts and tallow extracts; and all mixtures and compounds of tallow,
beef fat, suet, lard, lard oil, vegetable oil, annotto, and other
coloring matter, intestinal fat, and offal fat made in imitation or
semblance of butter, or, when so made, calculated or intended to be
sold as butter or for butter.”
The manufacture of oleomargarine can only take place in the United
States under the supervision of officials of the Internal Revenue.
All oleomargarine which is artificially colored a yellow or yellowish
tint in semblance of natural butter pays an internal revenue tax of
10 cents per pound. Oleomargarine uncolored pays a revenue tax of
one-fourth cent per pound. Oleomargarine when made under proper
sanitary conditions from sanitary raw materials is a wholesome and
nutritious article of diet and usually can be sold at a smaller price
than butter. It is especially a food product which commends itself to
those who are under the necessity of practising strict economy in the
cost of food in the family. The principal objection, and in fact the
only valid objection, to its use is found in the frauds which have
been committed in its manufacture and sale. There has been a constant
disposition on the part of dishonest manufacturers and dealers, since
the time when oleomargarine became a commercial commodity, to sell
it as butter. Although the penalties of national and state laws are
very severe in this respect the practice is continued. The opportunity
for gain is so great that the cupidity of the manufacturer overcomes
his fear of punishment and disgrace. With a more rigid national and
state inspection, it is reasonable to hope that this fraudulent use of
oleomargarine can be avoided and the pure, unadulterated article under
its own name be supplied to those who prefer it either on account of
its properties or its price.
=Materials Used in the Manufacture of Oleomargarine.=--_Neutral
Lard._--One of the principal basic components of oleomargarine is
neutral lard or lard stearin, the properties of which have already
been described. Beef fat stearin is another basic ingredient of
oleomargarine and is the stearin derived from tallow or tallow itself.
Beef fat has a higher melting point than lard and beef fat stearin a
still higher melting point than the tallow. Hence it forms an ideal
ingredient with which to mix the oily components which enter so largely
into the manufacture of oleomargarine. The beef fat or beef fat stearin
is easily distinguished by means of the microscope. It forms beautiful
radiated fan-like crystals, the characteristic appearance of which is
shown in Fig. 9, page 67.
_Cottonseed Oil and Cottonseed Oil Stearin._--These are also
important ingredients of oleomargarine affording the oily or more
liquid constituents which, when mixed with the lard and stearin above
mentioned, form a compound the melting point of which is slightly above
that of butter and sufficient to maintain it in an unmelted state even
in warm weather. The quantities in which these different ingredients
are used vary greatly in different manufacturing establishments and
depend largely upon the location where the oleomargarine is to be used.
When manufactured for tropical or subtropical regions larger quantities
of stearin are employed than when used in temperate zones or for winter
consumption, in which case larger quantities of cottonseed oil and
cottonseed oil stearin are employed with the mixture. After the fats
are mixed it is usually the practice to churn them with milk in order
to give a flavor of butter to the product. In some cases the yolk of
eggs is mixed with oleomargarine, as it is claimed that they impart
thereto a firmer and more homogeneous structure which renders the mass
better, especially for cooking purposes. All the ingredients which are
used in the manufacture of oleomargarine are made known and recorded
in the books of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and thus it is a
product which it may be said is strictly under government supervision.
=Description of Process of Manufacture.=--The fat is taken from the
cattle in the process of slaughtering, and after thorough washing is
placed in a bath of clean, cold water, and surrounded with ice, where
it is allowed to remain until all animal heat has been removed. It is
then cut into small pieces by machinery and cooked at a temperature of
about 150 degrees until the fat, in liquid form, has separated from
the fibrine or tissue, then settled until it is perfectly clear. Then
it is drawn into graining vats and allowed to stand a day, when it is
ready for the presses. The pressing extracts the stearin, leaving the
remaining product, which is commercially known as oleo oil, which, when
churned with cream or milk or both and with or without a proportion of
creamery butter, the whole being properly salted, gives the well-known
food-product, oleomargarine.
=Adulteration of Oleomargarine.=--Since the coloring of oleomargarine
is permitted upon the payment of a tax, oleomargarine which is
colored cannot be said to be adulterated when the tax has been paid,
although if coloring were not a legalized operation it would be an
adulteration. Yellow oleomargarine is an imitation of natural butter
and its manufacture should be prohibited unless the product is marked
“imitation.” The character of the coloring materials used is not
prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue but as a rule the
coal tar dyes are preferred in the coloring of oleomargarine to the
vegetable coloring matter such as annotto and saffron. The remarks
which have been made in connection with the use of poisonous materials
in other products apply to oleomargarine.
_Adulteration with Egg Yolks._--An adulteration which has been
practiced in this country is the admixture of preserved egg yolks.
Usually these yolks are secured in China, broken, and placed in
vessels and preserved with borax or boric acid or salt. These eggs are
generally collected during the early spring and summer months and are
not sent to the United States until the fall or winter. The importation
of such articles is now prohibited under the food laws of the country
so that the adulterations with the imported article is no longer to be
feared. It is possible to preserve domestic eggs in the same way, and
the use of them in this manner is regarded as an adulteration, since
such preserved egg products cannot be regarded as suitable for human
food.
_Adulteration with Preservatives._--Fortunately preservatives are not
used to any extent in the manufacture of oleomargarine when intended
for domestic use. The most suitable preservative in such a case as
this would be borax or boric acid. It is not believed that these
preservatives are used to any extent when the product is intended for
domestic consumption. Whether or not preservatives are used in the
product sent abroad I am unable to say.
=Production of Oleomargarine.=--According to the report of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue the quantity of oleomargarine taxed
at 10 cents a pound produced in the United States for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1905, was 5,584,684 pounds, and for 1906, 4,888,968
pounds. The quantity produced in 1906 taxed at one-fourth cent a pound
was 50,545,914 pounds.
COMPOSITION OF OLEOMARGARINE.
SOL. SOL.
SPECIFIC IN- ACID BY ACID BY
GRAVITY SOLUBLE WASHING DISTIL- ALBU-
AT 40°C. WATER. ACID. OUT. LATION. SALT. MINOIDS.
.90490 9.34 93.59 0.12 0.25 3.64 0.35
From the above data it is seen that the objections to the use of
oleomargarine are more on the grounds of fraud and deception than in
regard to nutritive and dietetic value. The components used in the
manufacture of oleomargarine, when properly made, are all wholesome
and digestible materials such as are consumed in eating various food
products. It does not appear, therefore, that any valid objection
can be made against the use of oleomargarine from a physiological or
hygienic standpoint.
CHEESE.
=Historical.=--The preparation of cheese is one of the oldest of the
technical processes. It appears that it was known during the time of
King David, at least a thousand years before Christ, and the Greeks
were acquainted with it before the writings of Homer. Aristotoles and
Hypocrates describe the curdling of milk which at that time appears
to have been accomplished by the use of the juice of the fig. The
use of cheese was very common in Rome in the earlier historical days
but the most of it was imported from the North. Cæsar speaks of the
preparation of cheese among the German tribes. Cheese must, therefore,
be regarded as one of the very oldest forms of prepared food used
by man. It probably is almost, if not quite, as old as wine. These
historical facts are interesting in showing how from the earliest times
man has made use of the natural ferments to prepare food from the raw
material. Attention must be called in this connection to the fact that
many people claim that such foods as these are not natural foods but
wholly artificial. The fallacy of such a claim is not difficult to
show. An artificial food is one which is prepared out of materials
which, themselves, are not edible food products or, at least, are not
digestible or of a character which does not naturally occur by ordinary
processes. Artificial foods, therefore, are purely synthetic, that
is, made up from the elemental substances, or they are mixtures or
compounds. On the contrary a food like cheese or wine is not a mixture
or compound but a natural product from materials which themselves are
food products. Milk is the raw material of cheese as the must of the
grape is of wine. Both milk and must are rich and nutritious foods. The
changes which each undergoes are in many respects the same. The must of
wine undergoes an alcoholic fermentation and the milk sugar of cheese
is subjected to a lactic fermentation and its casein to a proteolytic
change which materially alters its character.
Cheese products are a very important part of food materials of the
dairy. The term cheese is applied to the solid product produced from
milk by coagulation of the casein with rennet or lactic acid and
subjecting the solid product thus produced to a process of fermentation
and ripening by the addition of appropriate seed material, seasoning,
and storage at convenient temperature for varying periods of time.
In the precipitation of the casein of milk the fat particles become
mechanically entangled and form a part of the precipitate. There is
a certain quantity of other milk constituents incorporated in the
form of water, milk sugar, and mineral matter in the precipitated
mass. The greater part of the other bodies which the milk contains,
consisting of the milk sugar and a considerable portion of the soluble
mineral matter, are separated in the form of whey. The composition of
fresh cheese is that of that part of the milk which is precipitated
and which is entangled mechanically in the precipitated matter. The
ripened cheese is changed in its chemical constituents mostly as the
result of fermentative action upon its nitrogenous constituents, that
is, the casein, albumin, etc., contained therein. The ferments tend to
change the casein into a more soluble form of protein, while at the
same time they develop a flavor and aroma in a way agreeable to the
nostril and palate. Various forms of moulds and other organisms grow on
and in cheeses which influence their palatability and character. The
final product of the ripened cheese varies not only with the nature
of the original material as determined by the milk itself but with
the character of the preparation and the nature of the organisms and
ferments which are active during the ripening period, and also with the
time and temperature of storage.
=Kinds of Cheese.=--It is not necessary and perhaps it would be
impossible to attempt an enumeration of all the various kinds of cheese
which are offered on the market. The first classification of cheese
depends upon the character of the milk used. The term “cheese” in this
country naturally refers to a product made from cow’s milk since that
is the principal milk used in the United States for cheese making.
The term is used in this manual in that sense and when there is no
qualifying word employed it is always understood that the product in
question is made from the cow’s milk. This implies that the milk is at
least a standard milk, that is, a whole milk, unskimmed and containing
not less than 3.25 percent of butter fat. According to the definition
fixed by the Congress of the United States the term cheese is applied
not only to this product but also to one containing a larger percentage
of fat than this. The term cheese applies both to cheese made from milk
and cheese made partially from milk and partially from cream. The term
“full cream cheese” is also often used in the trade but is likely to
be misleading and deceptive. The real significance of the term full
cream cheese is that it is made of whole milk or milk unskimmed which
contains its full complement of cream. The term “cream cheese” is also
often used to indicate a cheese made partially of milk and cream. It is
evident that the term cream cheese in this sense is misleading, since
it can be properly applied only to a cheese made from cream alone.
Such cheeses are made but, inasmuch as cream must have not less than
18 percent of fat in order to be called cream according to the United
States standard, the cheeses made from such a source are too oily and
fatty for ordinary consumption.
=Cheese Made from Goat’s Milk.=--Goat’s milk is also frequently used
in making cheese. It is extensively employed in France and Switzerland
for cheese making and also in other parts of Europe, and to a limited
extent in this country. Some of the varieties of cheese which are most
highly prized are made from goat’s milk, such as Roquefort.
=Adulteration and Misbranding of Cheese.=--The most common form of
adulteration or sophistication of cheese is the misbranding thereof in
respect of the country where made or in respect of character. This is
a form of deception which has long been established in the trade and
one which cannot be condoned or excused. There are certain varieties of
cheese whose names should be respected and in fact, in the case of all
varieties that have an established character and reputation, their name
should not be applied to other articles made in imitation thereof. In
this country there is a national law which prohibits the marking of a
food or dairy product falsely as to the state or territory where made.
For instance, a cheese made in Ohio cannot be marked New York cheese
and peaches grown in Delaware cannot be marked California peaches,
maple sirup made in Indiana cannot be labeled Vermont maple sirup, etc.
The ethical principle underlying this law is one which will meet the
approbation of every well meaning man and therefore the extending of
this principle to other forms of misbranding is an easy step. If it is
a violation of the law to mark a cheese made in Ohio as made in New
York it is certainly a violation of the ethical principle underlying
that law to name a cheese made in Connecticut Cammerbert. Unhappily,
however, there are cheeses made in the United States to which foreign
names are given, the universal excuse being that they are cheeses of
the same type. In many cases this excuse is not a valid one and in
no case is it an accepted one. To name a cheese made from cow’s milk
the same as that made from ewe’s milk is a distinct misbranding in
every sense of the term. There should be no difficulty in established
varieties of cheese made in this country having names which are not
deceptive and not intended to mislead the consumer as to the state,
territory, or country where made. In one sense all cheese may be said
to be of the same type, but because the taste and odor of a cheese
made in the United States imitates to some extent that of a cheese
made in France is no excuse for giving the French name to the American
product. A further illustration of this principle is found in the
following: The term Roquefort, for instance, is not properly applied to
any cheese product except that which is made at or in the vicinity of
Roquefort. In no other part of France can cheese be made bearing the
name of Roquefort. The use of the term Roquefort, therefore, in any
way upon American cheese is a misbranding and an attempt to deceive
which usually is successful. There is not so great an objection to the
term Swiss cheese as to Roquefort, but there is the same kind of an
objection. The cheese which bears the name of Schweitzer-Käse is very
extensively manufactured in Germany and sold under that name. A similar
cheese is also extensively made in this country and sold under the name
of Schweitzer-Käse. In this case there is no particular location or
place which originated the name and has the sole right to use the name
Swiss cheese. It is the name of a whole country and not of a location,
and yet it is evident that Swiss cheese properly can only be made in
Switzerland and not in Germany or in the United States. Any hard, tough
cheese in which a large number of holes is found and which on cutting
makes a flexible, semi-leathery slice has to a certain extent the
appearance and perhaps the taste and flavor of genuine Swiss cheese.
It should not be difficult to find a market for all good cheese made in
this country, under appropriate American names indicating their origin.
If the term Swiss cheese is at all allowable on a package it should be
placed as a minor part of the label and with the statement that it is
of that type. Even this transgression is perhaps difficult of excuse.
=Artificial Coloring.=--Next to misbranding and misnaming of cheeses,
perhaps the most common adulteration is that of artificial coloring.
The public taste has been led in the matter of cheeses, especially
of American origin, to look for a deep yellow color. This is also
associated with the idea of the use of a large quantity of rich,
naturally yellow-colored cream. The addition of an artificial color to
a cheese never adds anything to its value, and to the really æsthetic
eye detracts much from its appearance. The presence of this rich
artificial tint is calculated in many instances to excite a suspicion
in regard to the character of the cheese and thus interferes with its
proper gustation. There is another more serious objection than the one
just mentioned, namely, that it is possible from skimmed milk to make
a highly colored cheese which would appear to the consumer to be made
of whole milk or of milk and cream, and thus a deliberate deception
is perpetrated. The consumer of cheese should demand that artificial
coloring of all kinds be omitted from cheese products.
Moreover, these colors may of themselves be deleterious in character
and there is no restriction, so far as I know, at this time in the
United States to prevent a manufacturer, if he so desires or through
his ignorance of the use of coloring materials of a poisonous
character, from using any amount.[22] The coal tar dyes are cheaper and
produce faster and more natural looking tints than the vegetable colors
such as annotto and saffron, and hence, unless they are prohibited
by law, they are almost universally employed. All of these dyes in
a concentrated form are highly poisonous and injurious and several
instances are on record of death, especially in the case of young
children, from eating concentrated colors. The fact that a poison of
this kind is diluted by the cheese is no excuse for its use. The only
protection which the consumer has, which is reliable in all cases, is
the prohibition of coloring matter in cheese.
[22] Written before the passage of the food-bill.
By Act of Congress of June 6, 1896, coloring matter is permitted to be
used in cheese in the United States and doubtless it will continue to
be used under this authority until that portion of the Act is repealed
or until the consumer demands an uncolored article. The pure, natural
color of the cheese is universally acknowledged to be best, most
palatable, and most desirable.
=Preservatives.=--Fortunately there is little to be said in regard to
preservatives in cheese because they are almost unknown. The addition
of a preservative to a cheese at the time of its production would so
seriously interfere with the ripening process as to defeat the purpose
of storage altogether. Hence in so far as preservatives are concerned
there is little danger of adulteration.