There are now a number of model creameries in the United States turning
out butter which would probably equal the best European were it not
habitually spoiled by the injudicious use of a "starter" to turn the
cream quite sour, and by the addition of salt. The subtle and much
disputed question of sour cream versus sweet will be discussed in the
chapter on French Supremacy. That of "salt or no salt" must be disposed
of now.
The assertion frequently made that unsalted butter tastes insipid
to most users is not confirmed by my own experience. No doubt the
subtle aroma of sweet butter escapes many who are partially anosmic (a
frequent defect analogous to color-blindness), or who have neglected
to train their sense of smell, or who have deadened their olfactory
nerve by excessive smoking or drinking of strong liquors, so that they
cannot appreciate the delicate aroma of European butter. But I have
come across many Americans at home and abroad who, given a fair chance,
instantly and emphatically preferred the unsalted butter.
Once I made a special experiment at a rural boarding house in Maine. Of
a dozen persons at the table only one liked salt butter better; two had
no decided preference, while the other nine voted, after a fair trial
and comparison, for sweet butter first, last, and all the time.
The only trouble was that much more was consumed of the sweet than had
been eaten of the salt; which shows the folly of those dealers who
think they are smart in selling pounds of salt at the price of butter,
whereas in truth they would sell twice as much butter if they left
it sweet, because that kind is so much more palatable and tempting.
Boarding house keepers will always order salt butter.
Undoubtedly the vast majority of Americans at present prefer, or think
they prefer, salted butter. To convince them that this preference
simply proves that their gastronomic education has been neglected, let
me add a few significant details.
Dr. Wiley, in whose taste, judgment and knowledge we all have so much
faith says that "the best grade of butter is that which receives no
treatment other than 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."
Until a few years ago it was almost impossible, even in New York
City, to get unsalted butter. To-day it is usually served in the most
expensive hotels and restaurants, some of the wealthy folk use it at
home, and the general customer has a chance to buy it in a few places,
at fancy prices. It is seldom as good as the same product in the
humblest inn of Continental Europe, but it is improving from year to
year.
In connection with this fact it is interesting to read the words of
Chief Hayward, in the Government publication already referred to.
"_What is known as the highest class trade demands a much lighter
salted butter than is demanded for the lower grades. Furthermore, there
is an increasing tendency on the part of the best trade to ask for a
butter containing less and less salt. Butter which has a clean, pure
flavor needs little salt; that which is off-flavor or tainted in any
way is improved by being strongly salted._"
In other words, the worse the butter, the more salt it needs, and
the better the butter the less salt it needs. From this it follows
logically that the best butter needs no salt at all.
The notion that salt "brings out" the Flavor is ridiculous; it spoils
it. In the gastronomic countries of Europe the consumer would no more
allow salt to be put into the butter he eats than into the cream he
puts in his coffee, or the ice-cream he takes for his dessert.
There is absolutely no excuse for continuing the barbarous practice
of denaturing American butter by the addition of salt. It does not
even help to make it keep. On this point Dr. Wiley remarks: "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."
There is also a comic side to the question and the joke is on the
butter-maker and dealer. I have already pointed out that we are tempted
to eat much more of the sweet butter than of the salt. There is another
weighty reason why the makers would profit by leaving out the salt.
Dr. Wiley observes that "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 funniest part of the story remains to be told. By throwing in
handfuls of salt the maker not only lowers the market price of his
butter but also decreases its weight! Read Assistant Chief Hayward's
explanation of this seeming paradox:
"Butter will usually weigh less after the salt has been added and the
butter worked than before. This is due to the fact, already mentioned,
that salt unites, or collects, the small drops of moisture into drops
so large that they can be separated from the butter, and, as the total
weight of the water or brine thus separated exceeds the weight of salt
added, the butter consequently loses weight by reason of salting."
If, _in spite of all this_, the butter-maker and dealer persist in
foisting strongly salted butter on you, beware! It can only be because,
as Chief Hayward has pointed out, "that which is 'off flavor' or
tainted in any way, is improved by being strongly salted." Do you wish
to habitually eat bad butter thus "improved"? Can it be possible that
you do not resent being the dupe of the astute butter men?
[Illustration]