OTAGO GROCERS ASSISTANTS' UNION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15822, 22 July 1913, Page 8

OTAGO GROCERS ASSISTANTS' UNION.

LECTURE ON BUTTER AND MARGARINE. Mr T. M. Baxter, fel!o\v of tho Grocers' Institute (London), delivered a lecture to the members of the Otago Grocers' Assistants' Union last evening. There was a largo gathering present. Mr Baxter's topic was "Butter, Cheese, Margarine, and Casein." He prefaced his remarks by speaking of tho importance of a due proportion of fat in the diet of man, which was insisted on by all physiologists, and slid the variety of forms in which fat entered into human food was very considerable. Formerly butter, lard, and dripping were the principal fats consumed as food, but tho introduction of margarine by'M. Mego-Mouries in 1872, followed in more recent years by the discovery of large quantities of now vegetable fata and oils, and of greatly improved processes for their preparation, purification, and refinement, had much augmented and cheapened the 6Upply of fat for human consumption. The popular prejudice against artificial butters had now been largely dissipated, and tho edible fat and oil industry liad become an important one. He described how butter _ was made in a modern butter factory, saying that commercial butter consisted of butter-fat, casein, and salt, the proportion of fat usually ranging from about 84 to 87 per cent. In Great Britain and Ireland pure butter must not contain ~more than 16 per cent, of moisture, while the so-called 1 " milk-blended butter" was not allowed to exceed the limit of 24 per cent, There was no regulation as to tho amount of salt that might be added to butter, and the proportion would depend upon tho popular taste—sometimes as much | as 10 per cent, might be found. Tho various constituents of margarine were cream milk, oleo margarine, neutral lard, arachic oil, and for the cheaper qualities cotton seed oil was used. Oleo- was a product from the fat of the ox. The fat was removed from the slaughtered animal as quickly as possible, and was then taken into the works and was carefully sorted. The selected fat was carefully and thoroughly washed with warm water, after which it was transferred into water at a. very low temperature to secure rapid hardening. The fat was then cut into small pieces and shredded, being finally ground between rollers. The mass was then transferred into tin-lined jacketed melting vats and heated to the necessary temperature. Salt was sprinkled over tho surface to assist tho separation of the fat from the tissue. This melted portion, 'or clear oil, was run into a second series of steam-jacketed vessels, in which it was raised to about 45dcg C, after which more salt was added and a further settling took place. Tho clear fat was next transferred to shallow wooden vats or tin-lined trays, in which it was allowed to stand for three to five day 6 at a temperature not exceeding 20dog C., in order to crystallise out the stearine, after whioh it was thoroughly mixed, wrapped in canvas cloths, and subjected to hydraulic pressure whereby the soft oleo oil, or oleo margarine, was separated from the harder stearine, and this formed tho principal raw material for the manufacture of margarine. Ca6ein was recovered from skim milk by throwing down tho suspended substances with suitable reagents, Without going info all tho purposes for which casein was used, such as chromo-lithography, casein paints, casein adhesions,, casoin glue, casein solution, cement, casein stopping, imitation linoleum, bone, and horn, piano keys, umbrella handles, billiard balls, etc., ho explained how it was used in articles sold by grocers, which came under the head of casein foodstuffs—mentioning Gakvctogen, Guttmann's nutrient milk flour, Gulactol nutrium, casein food, plasmon, saiutogen, etc. At the finish of Mr Baxter's lecture a paper written by Mr A. K Beissel, of the Tiucri and Peninsula Milk Supply' Company, on "Fancy Cheese" was read by the secretary. Mr Baxter also supplied all thoeo present with copies of a pamphlet, "How To Bo a Grocer." Through the courtesy of Mr Holts (secretary of tho Wanganni Dairy Company) samples of casein were shown. Samples of margarine, buttcrine, plasmon, sanatagen. etc., were also exhibited. Mr W. J. Ronnick moved a hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer for the interesting and instructive information, and the meeting was unanimous in expressing its approval.