BUTTER

1. BUTTER is the fatty constituent of milk. It is obtained by skimming

or separating the cream from milk and churning it in order to make the

particles of fat adhere to one another. Butter is used largely in the

household as an article of food, for it is one of the most appetizing

and digestible forms of fat.

To supply the demand for butter, it is produced domestically in the home

and on farms and commercially in dairies and large establishments. The

principle of all churns used for butter making is practically the same.

They simply agitate the cream so that the butter-fat globules in it are

brought together in masses of such size as to enable the butter maker to

separate them from the buttermilk. Butter is seasoned, or salted, to

give it a desirable flavor and to improve its keeping qualities; it is

washed, or worked, in order to distribute the salt evenly, to separate

from it as much of the curd and other non-fatty constituents of the

cream as can be conveniently removed, to bring it into a compact, waxy

mass, and to give it texture. The United States authorities have set a

standard for the composition of butter, which allows this product to

contain not more than 16 per cent. of water and requires it to have at

least 82.5 per cent. of butter fat.

2. ECONOMICAL USE OF BUTTER.--In the home, butter is used on the table

and in the cooking of many foods. Hardly any article of food has such

general use as this one; in fact, a meal is usually considered to be

incomplete without it, both as an accompaniment to bread, rolls,

biscuits, or whatever variety of these is used, and as an ingredient in

the cooking of some foods that require fat. But butter is not cheap, so

that the wise and economical use of this food in the home is a point

that should not be overlooked by the housewife. This precaution is very

important, it having been determined that butter, as well as other fats,

is wasted to a great extent; and still it is true that no other material

can be so economically utilized. The very smallest amount of any kind of

fat should be carefully saved, for there are numerous uses to which it

can be put. Even though it is mixed with other food, it can always be

melted out, clarified--that is, freed from foreign substances--and then

used for some purpose in cooking. The chief way in which butter is

wasted is in the unnecessary and improper use of it, points that a

little careful thought will do much to remedy.

3. FLAVOR AND COMPOSITION OF BUTTER.--That the housewife may have an

understanding of the food substances found in butter and also learn how

to determine the quantity of butter needed for her family, she should

become familiar with the composition of this food. The flavor of butter

depends to a great extent on the kind of cream from which it is made,

both sweet and sour cream being used for this purpose. Of these two

kinds, sour cream is the preferable one, because it gives to the butter

a desirable flavor. Still, the unsalted butter that is made from sweet

cream is apparently growing in favor, although it is usually more

expensive than salted butter. The difference in price is due to the fact

that unsalted butter spoils readily.

4. So far as its food substances are concerned, butter is composed

largely of fat, but it also contains water, protein in the form of

casein, and mineral matter. The quantity of water contained in butter

determines to a large extent the weight of butter, since water is

heavier than fat; but as only 16 per cent, of water is allowed, butter

that contains more water than this is considered to be adulterated. As

very little milk is retained in butter, only a small percentage of

protein is found in this food. However, a considerable quantity of

mineral salts are present, and these make it more valuable than most of

the other fats. Because of the nature of its composition--a very high

percentage of fat and a low percentage of protein--butter is distinctly

a fuel food, that is, a heat-producing food. Of course, there are

cheaper fats, some of which are even better heat-producing foods than

butter, but as their flavor is not especially agreeable to some persons,

they are not used so extensively.

In view of the nature of the composition of this food, an ounce of

butter a day is the average allowance for each person when the diet of a

family contains meat and such other fats as lard, olive oil, etc. At the

most, 1/2 pound of butter should be purchased each week for each member

of the family for table use, and fats cheaper than butter should be used

for cooking purposes.

5. PURCHASING BUTTER.--As in the case of milk, in order that the

housewife may judge the quality of the butter she purchases, she will do

well to look into the cleanliness and sanitary condition of the dairy

that produces it. Too much attention cannot be given to this matter, for

if cream becomes contaminated from careless handling, the same

contamination is liable to occur in the butter made from it. Butter that

is produced in dairies that make large quantities of it usually has not

much opportunity to become contaminated before it reaches the consumer,

for it is generally pressed into 1-pound prints, and each one of these

is then wrapped and placed in a paper carton. On the other hand, the

farmer and the dairyman doing a small business do not find it profitable

to install the equipment required to put up butter in this way, so they

usually pack their butter into firkins or crocks or make it into rolls.

When such butter goes to market, it is generally placed in a

refrigerator with more butter of the same sort, some of which is good

and some bad. As butter absorbs any strong odor present in the

refrigerator and is perhaps cut and weighed in a most unsanitary manner,

the good becomes contaminated with the bad. While butter of this kind is

perhaps a few cents cheaper than that which is handled in a more

sanitary way, it is less desirable, and if possible should be avoided by

the housewife. In case butter is obtained from a certain farm, the

conditions on that farm should be looked into for the same reason that

the conditions in a dairy are investigated.

6. To be able to select good butter, the housewife should also be

familiar with its characteristics. In color, butter to be good should be

an even yellow, neither too pale nor too bright, and should contain no

streaks. The light streaks that are sometimes found in butter indicate

insufficient working. As to odor, butter should be pleasing and

appetizing, any foreign or strong, disagreeable odor being extremely

objectionable. Stale butter or that which is improperly kept develops

an acid called _butyric acid_, which gives a disagreeable odor and

flavor to butter and often renders it unfit for use.

7. CARE OF BUTTER.--The precautions that the farmer and dairyman are

called on to observe in the making and handling of butter should be

continued by the housewife after she purchases butter for home use. The

chief point for her to remember is that butter should be kept as cold as

possible, because a low temperature prevents it from spoiling, whereas a

high one causes it to become soft and less appetizing. The most

satisfactory place in which to keep butter is the refrigerator, where it

should be placed in the compartment located directly under the ice and

in which the milk is kept, for here it will not come in contact with

foods that might impart their flavors to it. Should no refrigerator be

available, some other means of keeping butter cold must be resorted to,

such as a cool cellar or basement or a window box.

The way in which butter is bought determines to a certain extent the

method of caring for it. If it is bought in paper cartons, it should be

rewrapped and replaced in the carton each time some is cut off for use.

In case it is bought in bulk, it should never be allowed to remain in

the wooden dish in which it is often sold; rather, it should be put into

a crock or a jar that can be tightly covered.

8. Attention should also be given to butter that is cut from the supply

for the table or for cooking purposes and that is not entirely used.

Such butter should never be returned to the original supply, but should

be kept in a separate receptacle and used for cooking. If it contains

foreign material, it can be clarified by allowing it to stand after it

has melted until this has settled and then dipping or pouring the clear

fat from the top. Butter that has become rancid or has developed a bad

flavor need not be wasted either, for it can be made ready for use in

cooking simply by pouring boiling water over it, allowing it to cool,

and then removing the layer of fat that comes to the top. Such butter,

of course, cannot be used for serving on the table. Still, consideration

on the part of the housewife to just such matters as these will prevent

much of the waste that prevails in the household in the use of

this food.

9. COOKING WITH BUTTER.--While some housewives make it a practice to use

butter in cooking of all kinds, there are uses in which other fats are

preferable; or, in case butter is desired, there are certain points to

be observed in its use. For instance, butter is rendered less digestible

by cooking it at a high temperature, as in frying or sauteing; also, it

cannot be used to any extent for the frying of foods, as it burns very

readily. If it is used for sauteing, the dish is made much more

expensive than is necessary, so that in most cases a cheaper fat should

be employed for this purpose. In addition, a point to remember is that

this fat should not be used to grease the pans in which cakes and hot

breads are baked unless it is first melted, because the milk contained

in the butter burns easily; after it is melted, only the top fat should

be used. When butter is desired for very rich cakes and for pastry, it

is usually washed in cold water to remove the milk. To neutralize the

sour milk contained in butter that is used for baking purposes, a little

soda is sometimes employed.

Further economy can be exercised in the use of butter if a little

thought is given to the matter. For instance, when butter is melted and

poured over meat or fish that has been broiled or over vegetables that

have been cooked in a plain way, much of it usually remains in the dish

and is wasted. Such butter can be utilized again. Since butter undergoes

a change when it is cooked, it should be mixed with cooked foods to

flavor them, rather than be subjected to the temperature necessary

for cooking.

When butter is used for spreading sandwiches, it usually will be found

advisable to soften the butter by creaming it with a spoon, but it

should never be melted for this purpose.

10. SERVING BUTTER.--When butter is used for the table, some

consideration must be given to the serving of it. Probably the most

usual way of serving butter is to place a slice of it on a plate and

then pass the plate with a knife to each person at the table. The

advantage of this method is that each person can take the amount desired

and thus prevent waste. However, a still more desirable way of serving

butter that is to be passed is to cut it into small cubes or squares or

to shape it into small balls and then serve it with a fork or a butter

knife. To prevent the pieces or balls of butter from melting in warm

weather, cracked ice may be placed on the butter dish with them. Butter

cut into cubes or squares may also be served on an individual butter

dish or an individual bread-and-butter plate placed at each person's

place before the meal is served. Whichever plan is adopted, any

fragments of butter that remain on the plates after a meal should be

gathered up and used for cooking purposes.

[Illustration: FIG 1]

11. Butter that comes in pound prints lends itself readily to the

cutting of small cubes or squares for serving. Such butter may be cut by

drawing a string through the print or by using a knife whose cutting

edge is covered with paper, a small piece of the oiled paper such as

that in which the butter is wrapped answering very well for

this purpose.

If butter balls are desired for serving, they may be rolled with butter

paddles in the manner shown in Fig. 1. To make butter balls, put wads of

the butter to be used into ice water so as to make them hard. Then place

each wad between the paddles, as shown, and give the paddles a circular

motion. After a little practice, it will be a simple matter to make

butter balls that will add to the attractiveness of any meal. Paddles

made especially for this purpose can be purchased in all stores that

sell kitchen utensils.

[Illustration: FIG. 2]

12. Sometimes, for practical purposes, it is desired to know the

quantity of butter that is served to each person. In the case of print

butter, this is a simple matter to determine. As shown in Fig. 2, first

mark the pound print in the center in order to divide it in half; after

cutting it into two pieces, cut each half into two, and finally each

fourth into two. With the pound print cut into eight pieces, divide and

cut each eighth into four pieces. As there will be thirty-two small

pieces, each one will represent one thirty-second of a pound, or

1/2 ounce.