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BUTTER AND BUTTER SUBSTITUTES (PART 2)

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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.