TURNIP FLAVOUR.

Northern Advocate, 25 August 1924, Page 3

TURNIP FLAVOUR.

EVERGREEN SUBJECT. The subject of "turnip flavour" in butter was introduced by Mr" Robert McDonald at Saturday's meeting of the Whangarei Dairy Company. He moved that this subject be investigated in a practical way. He wanted the company, he said, to churn some good quality turnip-fed cream and hold it for three months to see whether the turnip flavour came out at the end of that time. Personally, he believed it would.

Mr Berridge said he favoured the adoption of the resolution carried at the Maungatapere meeting, namely to pay 2d less for tho 86 grade than for the 88, except that lie thought they ought to make the difference 3d instead of 2d.

Mr Smith said that he had read various accounts of investigations that had been made into this question and it was shown that there, was no such thing as turnip flavour if the cows wore properly fed.

Mr McDonald reiterated that he believed the flavour would come out in three months' time no matter how careful thev were.

Mr Clarke stated that the subject had been discussed quite frequently, but it had been shown that turnips could be fed to cows without detrimental effect if care were used. He thought it would be a pity to bar the use of turnips altogether, because they wore a valuable food.

Mr McDonald said ho did not want the impression to get about that he was against feeding on turnips. He was not, and if one supplier could do it, so could others. What he specially wanted was that every supplier should send a first-class article to the factory to be manufactured into the highest quality of butter for export; that was why ho wanted to see a test made of butter from good turnip fed cream.

Mr Valentine stated that this was an evergreen subject. He believed tho best 7neans of eliminating flavoured cream was to make a further penalty. It had boon accepted that cows could be fed on tuv.'ips without tho flavour detected i7i the butter, but it voiild soon con)'* out with injudicious fading, and this v\.",s where the penalties should appiy. So long as the penalty was only -id suppliers would not take tho same care as they would if they had to lose 2d by sending in turnip-flavoured cream. He thought Maungatapere had acted on sound linos. Helensville had made the penalty Id and increased the grade to 90. The subject was very important, but he av.'js not prepared to say under what conditions turnips could be fed without the flavour effect. Feed flavour had often been credited quite wrongly to turnips, as also had dirty machinery and cans. Strong feed of any kind woi-ld taint the cream, and it was the duty jf dairymen to use discretion at al! tunes in what they fed to their cows. If they would do this and keep their machinery and dairy appliances spotlessly clean there should be no fear of feed flavours. Mr McDonald had said the right thing when he suggested that feed flavours might become apparent when the butter was put on the market at Home, and this they ■wanted to obviate at all costs. Dirty-

machinery in particular was a menace, and the grade of butter last season, particularly in the North, had gone back, and he believed that was due to feed flavours caused through strong growth. Second quality cream, of course, meant second quality butter. The acidity of cream was also important. High acid cream required more soda, and this caused "flshy" flavour. He remembered that the acidity of the cream at the Waikiekie factory some years ago was particularly low, co7iseoueiitly the butter was particularly good, tiiid if one district could keep the acidity down, so could others. It all boiled down to strict eleanlin-vs and care in feeding. Mr Whimp asked whether there was any fear of turnip flavour developing later on, even if the cream came up to the necessary standard for first grade. Mr Berridge moved that the penalty for all cream under grade 88 be 2d and in doing so reminded suppliers that they had to keep their butter to a very high standard if they were going to compote successfully on the Home market. The motion was seconded by Mr R. McDonald and carried. The chairman (Mr 11. Wakelin) said that there was no doubt they were going to meet with very keen competition and they must produce a superior article if they wi'iv to keep on top.

"I expect I'll S' (>t i»to hot water about this, ,, declared Mr W. H. Winso r at a meeting , of the Canterbury Education Board (states the "Sun ,, ). "Oh, but," he continued renssuriii£ly, "I'll get Ollt °f lt :111 right." Ho was discussing the relative merits of building by day labour and by contract, and pointed out that the powers that .be at the Ohristc.hureh Trades Hall had added an extra storey to the building recently, and the work had been carried out by tender. Surely, if the day-labour system were a. success, the Trades Hall people should be tlie. first to use it. And they hadn't!