FISHINESS IN BUTTER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 8

FISHINESS IN BUTTER.

'-,■-'A CHEMIST'S 'OPINION. ' '.. ■ I'To ihe'Editor.J Sir,—l regret that I was unable to be t present at Palmerst'on North,' when Mr. Cuddie gave: his interesting address, including the above subject. I cannot agree at present with Mr. Cuddie's theory, although it is with great diffidence that I . differ with a gentleman of such great experience. Mv. Cuddio's view is that lishiness is due'to'excess acidity in the cream. Now, when I.went into this, matter I ■ carefully considered the effect of the .Use of cieam containing excessive acidity. It is well-known that after tho cream has been ■pasteurised' that the acidity of the cream is practically eliminated. Its effect upon the casein is quite ■ noticeable. It is a matter of.-.common knowledge that if pasteurised cream is allowed to stand and become, acid an . offensive-'odour and taste will often bo noticed in the butter "produced from it. .this is 'not. done in well-regulated factories, a good starter generally r being v used. L'nsaltecl- butter is iiiade 'from . the- same, class of cream as tho salted. No special selection of cream is ■ made when uii<-aH'cd butter is made'. There are practically, no complaints in reference to the i unsalted article. '•' . 1 J'lshiness lias becii .known, for many years, and it was fondlv'imagined that pasteurisation .would put an end to it. Pasteuribatioh was to be the panacea for all evils. If this is so, it is necessary to look.fjr some other cause than sometfiiii" inherent to the iriillc. The extraneous matters used -are salt, starter, and water As tho unsalted. butter is usually free from fishiness wo r.csd not consider the water and the starter. We have thus left the salt, ami, with a knowledge cf how salt is produced, I am able to say that any germ-life is certainly killed bv the temperature at ■ which salt is pro"duced. This being the case, we must =ee what happens to the salt,"after it leaves the pans. It will thus bo seen that iny . theory in reference to the sized pacl;a"es vtt so ,',' ne facts tc> suppovt it; It is not difficult' to theorise without any evidence to support such theories, but I . have pointed out what may reasonably be considered the cause of the' fishiiicss, and I . have been able to- give garni, reasons "for my assumption.' '

•If Mr. Cuddle's theory is allowed to hold water the • whole raison d'etre of P,-isfeuri-:ition is. done'away with, and di" expense might ho'saved-much to the eain in flavour a+id hoiuniet of New /r:il.irid butler. If it is n desideratum that all cream should be delivered sweet for butter-making, and that this will prevent nil fishiiiess, it is easy to suggest' something which will enable lis to attain the desired object.'. The'addition of a sniall quality 'of.sodium carbonates, or bicarbonate in-solution'(a definite quantity per gallon -can be added, to the milk after it has been drawn from the cows) or the- addition of a known quantity of borax or horacie acid. With regard to the use of these substances very little would remain in' the separated cream. Even now an addition of something like 35 gr.-iiii.s_ of horacic ar-'d is permitted by the New Zealand Government per pound on butter-fat exports. There are other antiseptics which could bo used 1 without any detriment to the cream. One I know which-is perfectly innocuous and cannot be detected by analysis. There are many matters in connection with both butter and cheese manufacture that require careful investigation. .Unfortunately, at present, I have not the. use of n fully-equipped laboratory, and therefore am unable to do the necessary research work.—f am, etc., P. ANW.RFON ESTCOURT, . Fell. Inst. Chem., Fell. Chcm. Soc. G.P.0., Wangnnui.