OUR MARGARINE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 124, 18 February 1908, Page 2

OUR MARGARINE.

HOW IT IS MADE. POPULAR WITH PASTRYCOOKS. \ So much interest has been aroused by ?nE Dominion's recent article on "Margar-. ne made in Wellington " that- we 1 are inluoed to give further information on \the übject. • . ' • , • , To begin with, we regret to Bay that the Wellington margarine is It is because' it is pure.lt is not .me ;he English article, which can be mixed vith butter, and with tasty condiments to uake it'appetising. The New Zealand law orbids the addition of butter, so that when "ou roll a somewhat adhesive pellet of Welington margarine around the tongue you san reflect, for good or'ill,- that there is no. )utter in it. Tt sticks.._to the'tongvie with. riore pertinacity than dripping, but it lacks ;he roast-beofy flavour of that homely rat. Margarine is not made fropi dripping, nor rom lard, nor stale butter, nor any other nferior intermediary. It is evolved direct rom certain wholesome, nutritious raw materials. .At least, that is. the; claim of Mr. lobert Hall, the produce agent, of Old Cubomhouse Street. Mr. Hall is understood o hold a monopoly of margarine manufac,ure in New Zealand. , What is it made from ? The Margarine manufacturer shifted unsasily in his seat at the question, and'proested that that was a trade secret. Is it. not made from stearin ? " Stearin," he said, " is just what we try ,o avoid. ■ Stearin makes it too 1 hard.' .It is .he stearin of butter that wakes butter set. [here is almost as much stearin'in butter as n margarine. You had tho ; ingredients in [ee Dominion the other' day. From what iource did you get 'the-information ?_• That, also, is a trado secret. But Wolling;on people will be more likely to eat raa J J ;arine'ir they know exactly .what it . is. made 'rom.'.' j >, "Well, first of all' the "fat comes rom beef. The suet. . which .lies iround ' the kidneys, and iwhich ■ contains inch' a iarge proportion of stearin, jS.avwdedj

md tho fat is obtained from other parts of ho carcass, chiefly from the caul, »nat we ire 'after 'isthe valuable.beef oleo. . Here s a sample of beef oleo." ... it. It has no salt, no blood, 10 raw meat, no smellj no.w»w>.: ; . P-® x>ef oleo, and makes just - the kind of ■ margarine that the pastrycook want.'' The crumbly, texture, was" suggestive of tripping,but, the fainfcbrown tint of that, lommotfity gave place to the 'merest tinge >f iemon yellow. The-taste,and smell were ri full accordance with invoice.' What else ? ■ , : " Well, here, is cotton seed oil. A small lampla bottle of an oil .that resembles the. inest salad oil ' was produced. "This ■is ibtainod from America. It is produced from ho cotton seed. , In cold weather it thickens, ike this portion at the botton of the bottle —like white clover honey. ■ This is mixed vifch the oleo. . Taste ,it. l ' , Next 1 ? :■ • "Those two ingredients make the margarne. The. oleo -is treated and purified by.extensive machinery! •to eliminate impurities ind flavours. ,: Then the cotton seed oil is nixed with it. Here is the . result. This nargarino is just made. Try it," . The, encounter was' not pleasing.:. ' "It' has no Vtaste, of: course," explained Mir. Hall,' apologetically, V "and the; pastry-, looks do : not want >taste. For cooking purroses it is va3tly superior to bad butter. And t will keep almost for.; ever. You' sometimes lear people say when'butter is bad, ' Oh, t will do for cooking.' Now, why' for looking-? Y If iipfi(,,for,h,utiian conlunifitibrt on ..br&a'd,',it' is . still "unfit when looked." • . . People imagine tho germs are killed.. "But the injurious' properties are' not'desL have it oil the' authority , ; of Dr. Jason that' cooked bad butter is very iinurioiis. What' is it' tliat makes butter ranlid? . It is butyric acid; and this is ex:eedingly .injurious. " When you eat pastry looked with rancid butterand feol' a; burning ;ensati6n following it down your inside, that s tho butyric acid. It is that which causes lyspopsia; a malady 'which Dr.' Mason tells no is very prevalent in ' this country. I have ieen pastry cooks using butter that -was ibsolutely' disgusting.'' This is why ladies' tfternbon teas 1 do'so much harm." ' ■ You say butter is used in making English nargaritie?. "Yes'. ' But it is forbidden' in New Zeaond. In England the law'prevents: the sale >f margarine, or anything else except milkjloiided. butter,'' as a butter substitute, be»use tho specialists who make .margarine succeeded :,in making' a margarine which "had ao butter in its raw materials; yet' could-be : 6und to bo nothing but butter to the jhemists' whose, duty it was to test it. - 'In S'cw Zealand we aro forbidden to add butter, the object being to prevent' the ;f rauduleht ;alo of margarino' as butter." ' ' Can you give it a butter flavour? . • "It would be oasy, by the addition' even if 5 por cent, of butter (which the law. forbids) and salt. ; But tho only other, way is to sxtraot from butter the real butter flavours.

This would not bo illegal,'butit would bo a' rery expensive and delicate ; process. - \ou would; ; 1 believe, have to' begin with the :ow.. You would have to 'sterilise.the cow, tnilk'her in the middle of : a paddock—away from all danger, from germs— I with sterilised hands into a sterilisod paili malse the butter in' sterilised vessels,'/"and treat- ! the-; product in a sterilised , end • fumigated ' laboratory. There is a risk all the time that something may occur to spoil the whole product.: '-Still, it can' be done, but there is no need for it at" present; : Tho_ great demand 1 for margarine is'for' cooking, where flavour is not Wanted. Pastry is usually - flavoured with

spicos and other tilings," >■ . ' • Can margarine -be ' Bought in, •'Wellington retail?' ' s - ' ■■■■' ■ • "Yes. Hero are some papers: used ior wrapping' pound pats"of margarine for sale by the grocers.". v - How much is used? 1 > - "In England 20,000 cwt. per week. ' .Its use has 'increased v greatly since butter bejamo dearer; In New Zealand the industry started ; only last"season,. • Between May (When- it was started) and October we disposed of. something like 12 tons. But last season we had butter at a low price, and there was also a great deal of prejudice igainst the ■ article. ■ Pastry cooks also ,had had no experience in its use, and naturally they did : not always succeed. But that stage is passing away. During last week wo sold within a' fraction of a hundred 56-pound boxes at 7d. a pound; We send it to Christihurch, Dunediri, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Auckland, Taranaki, and Wanganui. Look at those orders and see what the pastry cooks think of it. Here is one from the loading pastry cook in Wanganui. Here is one from Patea. Here .is another., from Christ jhurch." • ' I A footnote to one of the letters —"the margarine turned out tip-top"—gave an indication of tho sentiments expressed in most of these letters.