The Northern Advocate MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1913. A COMPETITOR OF BUTTER.

Northern Advocate, 1 September 1913, Page 4

The Northern Advocate MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1913. A COMPETITOR OF BUTTER.

Some months ago a rather striking article, published in the "Sydney Morning Herald," suggested that before many years have passed dairying will become one of the minor rural industries, if, indeed the milking of cows for the manufacture of butter does not entirely cease. The view taken by the writer—who quite cheerfully committed himself to the most dismal forecasts in respect to dairying—was that it is impossible for the manufacturers of butter to seriously suppose that the scientific production of a product equal to theirs will not quickly displace the article now made with such laborious effort. Margarine, he argued, must eventually take the place of butter. It can be made at half the price, is indistinguishable from butter except by an expert, is no longer "a mere mixture" of various fats but a nutritious article of diet, prepared under perfect hygenic conditions. Possibly the writer of the article —it was published in the "Advocate" at the time—may like many others who have unwisely assumed the role of prophet turn out to have been hopelessly wrong, but there is no doubt about two things and these are that in Europe and Great Britain margarine is rapidly growing in popular favour and that the demand for any butter except that of choicest quality is falling off. The problem seems to be whether the manufacture of butter of the very highest grade can be kept so far ahead, of the manufacture of margarine as to prevent that product of modern chemical research directly competing with it. If it can then

butter will, of course, hold the field and the only question remaining will be the extent of the market for an articie of only the choicest quality. That tb.e competition of margarine with butter is becoming increasingly keen is shown in many ways. The markets reflect the competition and a recent deputation—of which our High Commissioner was one—to the British Government disclosed the anxiety with which the future is regarded by many people connected with the trade in dairy produce. In their latest produce circular Messrs Weddel and Co., one of the leading firms in London, who have a large connection with New Zealand, emphasise this and declare, without reservation, that the consumption of margarine has made such great strides that "unless something is done to neutralise its growth, the position of Australasian butter in the United Kingdom may soon become critical." The manufacturers of margarine are mostly wealthy companies, and they have taken full advantage of the progress in chemical science, which in recent years has been remarkable, and some of them have made wonderful researches into the origin of flavours both on the bacterial and on the chemico-physical bases. These studies are still going on, but the results already secured are somewhat astounding. On the bacterial side they have utilised in their ripening and churning processes with almost complete certainty of result, the lactic acid ferments (known in the butter factories as "starters"), and have been able thereby to give to neutral animal and vegetable fats a lactic acid flavour, almost identical with that produced in butter. On the chemico-physical side, a process of hardening liquid oils, such as cotton seed, soya beans, sunflower, etc., by means of hydrogen has been adopted which has already proved successful in connection with oils used in the manufacture of soap. This process completely removes all'flavour and colour, and at the same time solidifies the oil. Cocoanut oil, from which the bulk of vegetable margarine is now made, hardens at the usual temperature, but as all vegetable margarines lack the body or solidity of the texture of butter much more than do the oleo-margarines, doubtless the hydrogen process will be used in the near future to further harden the vegetable varieties and so bring them also closer to the body and texture of genuine butter. The process requires a very expensive plant and can only be used by firms having command of large capital. Margarine companies, by means of scientific research, have also been successful in purifying and neutralising the flavour of oleo and other animal fats, and thus have completely revolutionised the making of margarine since its first invention by Mege Mouries.