Chapter II: Preface (2)

Grades of Milk or Cream Sold in the City of New York:

GRADE A Milk or cream (Raw)

Definition: Grade A milk or cream (raw) is milk or cream produced and handled in accordance with the minimum requirements, rules and regulations as herein set forth.

Tuberculin Test And Physical Condition: 1. Only such cows shall be admitted to the herd as have not reacted to a diagnostic injection of tuberculin and are in good physical condition. 2. All cows shall be tested with tuberculin and all reacting animals shall be excluded from the herd.

Bacterial Contents: Grade A milk shall not contain more than 60,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter, and cream more than 300,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter when delivered to the consumer or at any time prior to such delivery.

Necessary Scores: Equip. 25, Meth. 50, Total 75

Time of Delivery: Shall be delivered within 36 hours after production.

Bottling: Unless otherwise specified in the permit, this milk or cream shall be delivered to consumers only in bottles.

Labeling: Outer caps of bottles shall be white and shall contain the words Grade A, Raw, in black letters in large type, and shall state the name and address of the dealer.

Pasteurization: None.

Milk or cream (Pasteurized)

Definition: Grade A milk or cream (pasteurized) is milk or cream handled and sold by dealers holding permits therefor from the Board of Health, and produced and handled in accordance with the requirements, rules, and regulations as herein set forth.

Tuberculin Test And Physical Condition: No tuberculin test required, but cows must be healthy as disclosed by physical examination made annually.

Bacterial Contents: Grade A milk (pasteurized) shall not contain more than 30,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter and cream (pasteurized) more then 150,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter when delivered to the consumer or at any time after pasteurization and prior to such delivery. No milk supply averaging more than 200,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter shall be pasteurized for sale under this designation.

Necessary Scores: Equip. 25, Meth. 43, Total 68.

Time of Delivery: Shall be delivered within 36 hours after pasteurization.

Bottling: Unless otherwise specified in the permit, this milk or cream shall be delivered to the consumer only in bottles.

Labeling: Outer cap of bottles shall be white and contain the word Grade A in black letters in large type, date and hours between which pasteurization was completed; place where pasteurization was performed; name of the person, firm, or corporation offering for sale, selling, or delivering same.

Pasteurization: Only such milk or cream shall be regarded as pasteurized as has been subjected to a temperature averaging 145 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 30 minutes.

Grade B Milk or cream (Pasteurized)

Definition: Grade B milk or cream (pasteurized) is milk or cream produced and handled in accordance with the minimal requirements, rules, and regulations herein set forth and which has been pasteurized in accordance with the requirements and rules and regulations of the Department of Health for pasteurization.

Tuberculin Test And Physical Condition: No tuberculin test required, but cows must be healthy as disclosed by physical examination made annually.

Bacterial Contents: No milk under this grade shall contain more than 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter and no claim shall contain more than 500,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter when delivered to the consumer or at anytime after pasteurization and prior to such delivery. No milk supply averaging more than 1,500,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter shall be pasteurized in this city for sale under this designation. No milk supply averaging more than 300,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter shall be pasteurized outside of the city for sale under this designation.

Necessary Scores: Equip. 20, Meth. 35, Total 55

Time of Delivery: Milk shall be delivered within 36 hours and cream within 48 hours after pasteurization.

Bottling: May be delivered in cans or bottles.

Labeling: Outer caps of bottles containing milk and tags affixed to cans containing milk or cream shall be white and marked Grade B in bright green letters in large type, date pasteurization was completed, place where pasteurization was performed, name of the person, firm, or corporation offering for sale, selling, or delivering same. Bottles containing cream shall be labeled with caps marked Grade B in bright green letters, in large type and shall give the place and date of bottling and shall give the name of person, firm, or corporation offering for sale, selling, or delivering same.

Pasteurization: Only such milk or cream shall be regarded as pasteurized as has been subjected to a temperature averaging 145 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 30 minutes.

Grade C Milk or cream (Pasteurized) (For cooking and manufacturing purposes only.)

Definition: Grade C milk or cream is milk or cream not conforming to the requirements of any of the subdivisions of Grade A or Grade B and which has been pasteurized according to the requirements and rules and regulations of the Board of Health or boiled for at least two (2) minutes.

Tuberculin Test And Physical Condition: No tuberculin test required, but cows must be healthy as disclosed by physical examination made annually.

Bacterial Contents: No milk of this grade shall contain more than 300,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter and no cream of this grade show contain more than 1,500,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter after pasteurization.

Necessary Scores: Score 40

Time of Delivery: Shall be delivered within 48 hours after pasteurization.

Bottling: May be delivered in the cans only.

Labeling: Tags affixed to cans shall be white and shall be marked in red with the words, Grade C in large type and "for cooking" in plainly visible type, and cans and shall have properly sealed metal collars, painted red on necks.

Pasteurization: Only such milk or cream shall be regarded as pasteurized as has been subjected to a temperature averaging 145 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 30 minutes.

NOTE.--Sour milk, buttermilk, sour cream, kumyss, matzoon, zoolac, and similar products shall not be made from any milk of a less grade than that designated for Grade B and shall be pasteurized before being put through the process of souring. Sour cream shall not contained a less percentage of fats than that designated for cream.

No other words than those designated herein shall appear on the label of any container containing milk or cream or milk or cream products except the word certified when authorized under the State law.

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CARE OF MILK

50. NECESSITY FOR CARE IN THE HOME.--If milk of good quality is bought, and, as has been suggested, this should be done whenever it is possible, the next thing to do is to care for it in such a way that it may be fed to the family in the same condition as it was when delivered. It is, of course, of prime importance that the dairyman deliver clean fresh milk, but this is not sufficient; the milk must remain in this condition until it is used, and this can occur only when the housewife knows how to care for it properly after it enters the home. It is possible to make safe milk unsafe and unsafe milk positively dangerous unless the housewife understands how to care for milk and puts into practice what she knows concerning this matter. Indeed, some of the blame laid to the careless handling of milk by dairymen really belongs to housewives, for very often they do not take care of milk in the right way after delivery. As too much attention cannot be given to this matter, explicit directions are here outlined, with the idea of assisting the housewife in this matter as much as possible.

51. KEEPING MILK CLEAN IN THE HOME.--Immediately upon delivery, the bottle containing the milk should be placed in the coolest place available, never being allowed to stand on the porch in the sun or where such animals as cats or dogs may come in contact with it. When the milk is to be used, the paper cap should be carefully wiped before it is removed from the bottle, so that any dirt that may be on top will not fall into the milk. If not all the milk is used and the bottle must be returned to the cool place where it is kept, it should be covered by means of an inverted drinking glass or, as shown in Fig. 6, by a glass or porcelain cover. Such covers, or _sanitary milk_ _caps_, as they are called, are very convenient for this purpose and may be purchased at a slight cost.

52. Another precaution that should be taken is never to mix stale milk with fresh milk, because the entire quantity will become sour in the same length of time as the stale milk would. Also, milk that has been poured into a pitcher or any other open vessel and allowed to stand exposed to the air for some time should never be put back into the bottle with the remaining milk. Such milk is sure to be contaminated with the germs that are always present in the dust constantly circulating in the air. It is sometimes necessary to keep milk in a vessel other than the bottle in which it is delivered. In such an event, the vessel that is used should be washed thoroughly, boiled in clean water, and cooled before the milk is poured into it.

53. Particular care should be taken of the empty milk bottles. They should never be used for anything except milk. Before they are returned to the dairyman to be used again, they should first be rinsed with cold water, then washed thoroughly with hot, soapy water, and finally rinsed with hot water. If there is illness in the home, the washed bottles should be put into a pan of cool water, allowed to come to a boil, and permitted to boil for a few minutes. Such attention will free the bottles from any contamination they might have received. The dairyman, of course, gives the bottles further attention before he uses them again, but the housewife should do her part by making sure that they are thoroughly cleansed before they are collected by him.

54. KEEPING MILK COOL IN THE HOME.--As has been pointed out, milk should, upon being received, be kept in the coolest place available, which, in the majority of homes at the present time, is the refrigerator. In making use of the refrigerator for this purpose, the housewife should put into practice what she learned in _Essentials of Cookery_, Part 2, concerning the proper placing of food in the refrigerator, remembering that milk should be placed where it will remain the coolest and where it is least likely to absorb odors. She should also bear in mind that the temperature inside of a refrigerator varies with that of the surrounding air. It is because of this fact that milk often sours when the temperature is high, as in summer, for instance, even though it is kept in the refrigerator.

55. In case a refrigerator is not available, it will be necessary to resort to other means of keeping milk cool. A cool cellar or basement is an excellent substitute, but if milk is kept in either of these places, it must be tightly covered. Then, too, the spring house with its stream of running water is fully as good as a refrigerator And is used extensively in farming districts. But even though a housewife has none of these at her disposal, she need not be deprived of fresh milk, for there are still other ways of keeping milk cool and consequently fresh. A very simple way in which to keep milk cool is to weight down the bottles in a vessel that is deeper than they are and then pour cold water into the vessel until it reaches the top of the bottles, replacing the water occasionally as it becomes warm. A still better way, however, so far as convenience and results are concerned, is that illustrated in Fig. 7. As shown, wrap the bottle in a clean towel or piece of cotton cloth so that one corner of it is left loose at the top. Then place this end in a pan of cold water that stands higher than the bottle. Such an arrangement will keep the cloth wet constantly and by the evaporation of the water from it will cause the milk to remain cool.

COOKING MILK

56. POINTS TO BE OBSERVED IN COOKING MILK.--Because of the nature of milk and its constituents, the cooking of this liquid is a little more difficult than would appear at first thought. In fact, heating milk to a temperature greater than 155 degrees Fahrenheit causes several changes to occur in it, one of which, the coagulation of the albumin, has already been mentioned. As the albumin hardens into the layer that forms on the top of boiled milk, a certain amount of fat, sugar, and casein becomes entangled in it, and if the coagulated skin is rejected, these food substances, in addition to the albumin, are lost. Another change that results from boiling is in the fat globules that remain, for these separate and exist no longer in the form of cream.

57. When milk that is not perfectly fresh is cooked with other materials or soups, sauces, and puddings it sometimes curdles. To prevent curdling, the milk should be heated as rapidly as possible before it is used with the other ingredients. While the separate heating of the milk involves a little more work, time may be gained by heating the milk while the remaining ingredients are being prepared. The curdling of comparatively fresh milk is often caused by the addition of salt, especially if the salt is added when the milk is hot. However, if a pinch of bicarbonate of soda is added to the milk before it is heated, it will not be likely to curdle even though it is not absolutely fresh. When tomato is to be used in soup that contains milk or cream, curdling can be prevented if the milk or the cream to be used is thickened with flour or corn starch or a little soda is added to the tomato before the two are mixed. The mixing is accomplished by pouring the _tomato into the milk_ instead of the milk into the tomato. When acid fruit juices are to be added to milk or cream and the mixture then frozen, curdling can be prevented by thoroughly chilling the milk or cream in the freezer can before combining it with the juices.

58. As has already been learned, great care must be taken in the heating of milk, because the solids that it contains adhere quickly to the bottom of the pan and cause the milk to scorch. For this reason, milk should never be heated directly over the flame unless the intention is to boil it, and even if it must be boiled every precaution should be taken to prevent it from burning. It should be remembered, too, that a very small scorched area will be sufficient to make a quantity of milk taste burned. The utensil in which milk can be heated in the most satisfactory way is the double boiler, for the milk does not come in direct contact with the heat in this utensil. If a double boiler is not available, good results can be obtained by setting one pan into another that contains water.

59. Milk is often used in place of water for cooking cereals, beverages, puddings, soups, etc. This is good practice and should be followed whenever possible, for when milk is added it serves to increase the nutritive value of the food. It should be observed, however, that more time is required to cook grains or cereals in milk than to cook them in water, because milk contains more solid matter than water and is not absorbed so quickly. Another frequent use of milk is in breads and biscuits, where, as is explained in _Bread_ and _Hot Breads_, it produces a browner and more tender crust than water.

60. VARIETY OF WAYS TO USE MILK IN COOKING.--Because of the numerous purposes for which milk is required in the preparation of foods, the smallest amount of it, whether sweet or sour, can be utilized in cooking; therefore, no milk need ever be wasted. A few of the uses to which this food is oftenest put are mentioned briefly in order that the housewife may be familiar enough with them to call them to mind whenever she desires to carry out a recipe that calls for milk or when she has occasion to utilize milk that she has on hand.

Milk thickened slightly with flour and flavored with such material as corn, asparagus, celery, tomatoes, beans, peas, or fish makes a delicious soup. In bisques, or thickened soups, and in chowders, the liquid used need not be milk, but these are made very appetizing if milk is used for part or all of the liquid. Then, too, sauces or gravies made with milk, thickened with flour, and made rich with butter or other fat lend themselves to a variety of uses. Dice of vegetables, meat, fish, or game added to a sauce of this kind and served in pastry cases or over toast provide dishes that are delightful additions to any meal. Milk is also used as the basis for custards, blanc manges, ices, sherbets, ice creams, and tapioca, rice, and bread puddings in which eggs, starchy materials, and flavorings are added and the mixture then baked, steamed, boiled, or frozen, as the desired result may require. As is well known, milk is practically indispensable in the making of cakes, cookies, quick breads, and in fact nearly all dough mixtures. Even if it has soured, it can be used with soda to take the place of cream of tartar in mixtures that are to be made light, the lactic acid in the sour milk acting with the soda as leavening. Left-over milk in comparatively large quantities may also be used in the home for the making of cheese, although this product of milk is usually produced commercially.

RECIPES FOR MILK DISHES AND SAUCES

FOODS CONTAINING MILK

61. From the discussion given up to this point, it will be noted that milk is used in a large variety of ways and in the making of numerous dishes. However, most of the dishes in which this liquid occurs involve other important materials, so that the recipes for them are usually listed under some other ingredient or division of cookery. For instance, milk is used in the making of ice cream, but as the ice creams are included among cold desserts, recipes for them would naturally come in the Section pertaining to this subject. Milk is also an important ingredient in puddings, but the recipes for such dishes are given in the Section in which puddings and their sauces are discussed.

Because of this fact, there are only a few recipes that have milk as their basis, and this accounts for the small number of recipes here given. Chief among the recipes that involve principally milk are those for junket and white sauce, and while the number of these is small and the use of the dishes not so general as some kinds of food, just as much attention should be given to them as if they occurred in greater numbers and were used more commonly. Junket is very easily made and should therefore cause the housewife no concern; likewise, little difficulty will be experienced if the directions here given for white sauces are followed explicitly.

RECIPES FOR JUNKET

62. Plain Junket.--In the stomachs of all animals that use milk as food is found a digestive ferment known as _rennin_. This is taken from the stomachs of calves, made up commercially, and sold in the form of tablets called _junket_. When these tablets are used properly with milk, they coagulate the milk and make an excellent dessert that resembles custard and that is very easy to digest. Because of its nature and qualities, this kind of dessert is used largely for invalids and children. The following recipe gives the proportion and directions for making this dessert in its simplest form.

PLAIN JUNKET (Sufficient to Serve Eight)

1 junket tablet 1 Tb. cold water 1 qt. milk 4 Tb. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring

Dissolve the junket tablet in the cold water. Warm the milk very slowly to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, testing the temperature to make sure that it is right. If a thermometer is not on hand, this can be done by dropping a drop on the back of the hand. When neither heat nor cold can be felt from this drop of milk, it may be known to be very near the body temperature, the temperature at which rennin is active. If temperature is found to be too high, the milk must be cooled before the tablet is added. When the desired temperature has been reached, add the sugar, the alt, the junket dissolved in the water, and the flavoring. Then pour all into individual molds and keep it where it will remain warm for about 10 minutes, at the end of which it should be firm like a custard and may be cooled. Keep the junket cool until it is to be served, when it may be turned out of the mold or served in it. As junket will turn to whey if it is broken with a spoon to any extent, serving it in the mold is the better plan.

63. Junket With. Fruit.--The addition of fruit to junket, as in the dish illustrated in Fig. 8, makes an attractive dessert for both sick and well people. If the fruit used is permissible in the diet of an invalid, its combination with junket adds variety to the diet. In the making of this dessert, all juice should be carefully drained from the fruit before the junket is poured over it. Canned or fresh fruits may be used with equally good results.

JUNKET WITH FRUIT (Sufficient to Serve Eight)

1 junket tablet 1 Tb. cold water 1 qt. milk 1/4 c. sugar 1/4 tsp. salt Flavoring 8 halves of canned peaches or 1 c. of berries or small fruit

Make a junket as directed in the preceding recipe. Drain all juice from the fruit and place a half peach or a spoonful of fruit in the bottom of each of the eight molds and pour the junket over it to fill the mold. Let it solidify and serve cold.

64. CHOCOLATE JUNKET.--Chocolate added to plain junket not only varies the junket dessert, but also adds food value, since chocolate contains a large quantity of fat that is easily digested by most persons. Where the flavor of chocolate is found agreeable, such junket may be served in place of the plain junket.

CHOCOLATE JUNKET (Sufficient to Serve Six)

3 c. milk 2 sq. chocolate 6 Tb. sugar 3/4 c. water 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 1 junket tablet

Heat the milk to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, testing in the manner explained in Art. 62. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan, add to it the sugar and 1 cupful of water, and cook until smooth; then cool and add to the warm milk, putting in the salt, vanilla, and junket tablet dissolved in cupful of the water. Turn the junket into a dish or into molds and let stand in a warm place until set; then chill and serve. In preparing this recipe, it will be well to note that if sweet chocolate is used less sugar than is specified may be employed.

65. CARAMEL JUNKET.--In the making of caramel junket, browned, or caramelized, sugar and water take the place of part of the milk, and while a certain amount of the sugar is reduced in the browning, the caramel is still very high in food value and adds nutritive material to the dessert. There is nothing about caramel junket to prevent its being given to any one able to take plain junket, and if it is made correctly it has a very delightful flavor.

CARAMEL JUNKET (Sufficient to Serve Six)

3 c. milk 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. boiling water 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 1 junket tablet Whipped cream 1/4 c. chopped nuts

Heat the milk to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Caramelize the sugar by melting it in a saucepan directly over the flame until it is a light-brown color; then stir in the boiling water and cook until the caramel and the water become a sirup, after which cool and add to the milk Add the salt, the vanilla, and the junket tablet dissolved in a tablespoonful of cold water Pour the mixture into a dish, let it stand in a warm place until it sets; then chill, cover with sweetened whipped cream, sprinkle with chopped nuts, and serve.

RECIPES FOR WHITE SAUCE

66. Three white sauces are commonly used for different purposes, and in each one of them milk is the basis. These sauces differ from one another in thickness, and include _thin white sauce_, which is used for cream toast and soups; _medium white sauce_, which is used for dressing vegetables and is flavored in various ways to accompany meats, patties, or croquettes; and _thick white sauce_, which is used to mix with the materials used for croquettes in order to hold them together. To insure the best results, the proportion of flour and liquid should be learned for each kind, and to avoid the formation of lumps the proper method of mixing should be carefully followed out. A white sauce properly made is perfectly smooth, and since only little care is needed to produce such a result it is inexcusable to serve a lumpy sauce. Also, nothing is more disagreeable than thick, pasty sauce, but this can be avoided by employing the right proportion of flour and milk. The ingredients and their proportions for the various kinds of white sauce are as follows:

THIN WHITE SAUCE

1 c. milk 1 Tb. butter 1 Tb. flour 1/2 tsp. salt

MEDIUM WHITE SAUCE

1 c. milk 2 Tb. butter 2 Tb. flour 1/2 tsp. salt

THICK WHITE SAUCE

1 c. milk 2 Tb. butter 1/4 c. (4 Tb.) flour 1/2 tsp. salt

It will be easy to remember the proportions for these three sauces if it is observed that each one doubles the previous one in the quantity of flour used, the thin one having 1 tablespoonful to 1 cupful of milk, the medium one 2 tablespoonfuls to 1 cupful of milk, and the thick one 4 tablespoonfuls to 1 cupful of milk. To produce these sauces the ingredients may be combined in three different ways, each of which has its advantages. These methods, which are here given, should be carefully observed, for they apply not only to the making of this particular sauce, but to the combining of fat, starch, and liquid in any sauce.

_Method 1_.--Heat the milk, being careful that it does not scorch. Brown the butter slightly in a saucepan, add the flour and salt, and stir the mixture until it is perfectly smooth and has a deep cream color. Then add the hot milk gradually, stirring to prevent the formation of lumps. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the sauce from scorching. Sauce made according to this method does not require long cooking because the flour added to the hot fat cooks quickly. In fact, it is a very desirable method, for the browned butter and the flour lend flavor to the sauce. Many otherwise unattractive or rather tasteless foods can be made much more appetizing by the addition of white sauce made in this way.

_Method 2_.--Put the milk on to heat. While this is heating, stir the butter, flour, and salt together until they are soft and well mixed; then add the hot milk to them slowly, stirring constantly. Place over the heat and finish cooking, or cook in a double boiler. Sauce made by this method requires longer cooking than the preceding one and it has less flavor.

_Method 3_.--Heat the milk, reserving a small portion. Stir the flour smooth with the cold milk and add it to the hot milk, stirring rapidly. Add the butter and the salt, and continue to stir if cooked over the heat; if cooked in a double boiler, stir only until the mixture is completely thickened and then continue to cook for 10 or 15 minutes. When butter is added to the mixture in this way, it is likely to float on top, especially if too much is used. A better sauce may be made according to this method by using thin cream for the liquid and omitting the butter.

MILK, BUTTER, AND CHEESE (PART 1)

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

(1) When milk is used in a meal, what kinds of food may be omitted?

(2) Name the chief uses of milk in the dietary.

(3) Why is it possible for a child to remain in normal condition if given only milk for a long period of time?

(4) Name the solids contained in milk and tell for what each one is valuable.

(5) What causes milk to sour?

(6) What are the characteristics of wholesome milk?

(7) What is meant by the adulteration of milk?

(8) What quality of milk is of the most importance to the health of those using milk?

(9) (_a_) Why is dirty milk dangerous? (_b_) Pour a quart of the milk you purchase regularly through a pad of cotton. Note the result and report the condition of the milk by comparing the cotton with the disks shown in Fig. 2.

(10) Name some of the ways in which milk is likely to become contaminated.

(11) What is the safest kind of market milk to buy?

(12) Describe the conditions under which milk of this kind is marketed.

(13) (_a_) What is pasteurized milk? (_b_) What is the purpose of pasteurization?

(14) How may milk be pasteurized in the home?

(15) (_a_) When should milk be sterilized? (_b_) What changes take place in the sterilization of milk?

(16) What points should be considered in the purchase of milk?

(17) Why is it necessary to give milk considerable care in the home?

(18) Mention the precautions that should be observed in caring for milk.

(19) (_a_) How is milk affected by cooking? (_b_) Describe the best way to heat milk.

(20) Give the proportions of flour and liquid required in each of the three varieties of white sauce.

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BUTTER AND BUTTER SUBSTITUTES (PART 2)

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BUTTER

1. BUTTER is the fatty constituent of milk. It is obtained by skimming or separating the cream from milk and churning it in order to make the particles of fat adhere to one another. Butter is used largely in the household as an article of food, for it is one of the most appetizing and digestible forms of fat.

To supply the demand for butter, it is produced domestically in the home and on farms and commercially in dairies and large establishments. The principle of all churns used for butter making is practically the same. They simply agitate the cream so that the butter-fat globules in it are brought together in masses of such size as to enable the butter maker to separate them from the buttermilk. Butter is seasoned, or salted, to give it a desirable flavor and to improve its keeping qualities; it is washed, or worked, in order to distribute the salt evenly, to separate from it as much of the curd and other non-fatty constituents of the cream as can be conveniently removed, to bring it into a compact, waxy mass, and to give it texture. The United States authorities have set a standard for the composition of butter, which allows this product to contain not more than 16 per cent. of water and requires it to have at least 82.5 per cent. of butter fat.

2. ECONOMICAL USE OF BUTTER.--In the home, butter is used on the table and in the cooking of many foods. Hardly any article of food has such general use as this one; in fact, a meal is usually considered to be incomplete without it, both as an accompaniment to bread, rolls, biscuits, or whatever variety of these is used, and as an ingredient in the cooking of some foods that require fat. But butter is not cheap, so that the wise and economical use of this food in the home is a point that should not be overlooked by the housewife. This precaution is very important, it having been determined that butter, as well as other fats, is wasted to a great extent; and still it is true that no other material can be so economically utilized. The very smallest amount of any kind of fat should be carefully saved, for there are numerous uses to which it can be put. Even though it is mixed with other food, it can always be melted out, clarified--that is, freed from foreign substances--and then used for some purpose in cooking. The chief way in which butter is wasted is in the unnecessary and improper use of it, points that a little careful thought will do much to remedy.

3. FLAVOR AND COMPOSITION OF BUTTER.--That the housewife may have an understanding of the food substances found in butter and also learn how to determine the quantity of butter needed for her family, she should become familiar with the composition of this food. The flavor of butter depends to a great extent on the kind of cream from which it is made, both sweet and sour cream being used for this purpose. Of these two kinds, sour cream is the preferable one, because it gives to the butter a desirable flavor. Still, the unsalted butter that is made from sweet cream is apparently growing in favor, although it is usually more expensive than salted butter. The difference in price is due to the fact that unsalted butter spoils readily.

4. So far as its food substances are concerned, butter is composed largely of fat, but it also contains water, protein in the form of casein, and mineral matter. The quantity of water contained in butter determines to a large extent the weight of butter, since water is heavier than fat; but as only 16 per cent, of water is allowed, butter that contains more water than this is considered to be adulterated. As very little milk is retained in butter, only a small percentage of protein is found in this food. However, a considerable quantity of mineral salts are present, and these make it more valuable than most of the other fats. Because of the nature of its composition--a very high percentage of fat and a low percentage of protein--butter is distinctly a fuel food, that is, a heat-producing food. Of course, there are cheaper fats, some of which are even better heat-producing foods than butter, but as their flavor is not especially agreeable to some persons, they are not used so extensively.

In view of the nature of the composition of this food, an ounce of butter a day is the average allowance for each person when the diet of a family contains meat and such other fats as lard, olive oil, etc. At the most, 1/2 pound of butter should be purchased each week for each member of the family for table use, and fats cheaper than butter should be used for cooking purposes.

5. PURCHASING BUTTER.--As in the case of milk, in order that the housewife may judge the quality of the butter she purchases, she will do well to look into the cleanliness and sanitary condition of the dairy that produces it. Too much attention cannot be given to this matter, for if cream becomes contaminated from careless handling, the same contamination is liable to occur in the butter made from it. Butter that is produced in dairies that make large quantities of it usually has not much opportunity to become contaminated before it reaches the consumer, for it is generally pressed into 1-pound prints, and each one of these is then wrapped and placed in a paper carton. On the other hand, the farmer and the dairyman doing a small business do not find it profitable to install the equipment required to put up butter in this way, so they usually pack their butter into firkins or crocks or make it into rolls. When such butter goes to market, it is generally placed in a refrigerator with more butter of the same sort, some of which is good and some bad. As butter absorbs any strong odor present in the refrigerator and is perhaps cut and weighed in a most unsanitary manner, the good becomes contaminated with the bad. While butter of this kind is perhaps a few cents cheaper than that which is handled in a more sanitary way, it is less desirable, and if possible should be avoided by the housewife. In case butter is obtained from a certain farm, the conditions on that farm should be looked into for the same reason that the conditions in a dairy are investigated.

6. To be able to select good butter, the housewife should also be familiar with its characteristics. In color, butter to be good should be an even yellow, neither too pale nor too bright, and should contain no streaks. The light streaks that are sometimes found in butter indicate insufficient working. As to odor, butter should be pleasing and appetizing, any foreign or strong, disagreeable odor being extremely objectionable. Stale butter or that which is improperly kept develops an acid called _butyric acid_, which gives a disagreeable odor and flavor to butter and often renders it unfit for use.

7. CARE OF BUTTER.--The precautions that the farmer and dairyman are called on to observe in the making and handling of butter should be continued by the housewife after she purchases butter for home use. The chief point for her to remember is that butter should be kept as cold as possible, because a low temperature prevents it from spoiling, whereas a high one causes it to become soft and less appetizing. The most satisfactory place in which to keep butter is the refrigerator, where it should be placed in the compartment located directly under the ice and in which the milk is kept, for here it will not come in contact with foods that might impart their flavors to it. Should no refrigerator be available, some other means of keeping butter cold must be resorted to, such as a cool cellar or basement or a window box.

The way in which butter is bought determines to a certain extent the method of caring for it. If it is bought in paper cartons, it should be rewrapped and replaced in the carton each time some is cut off for use. In case it is bought in bulk, it should never be allowed to remain in the wooden dish in which it is often sold; rather, it should be put into a crock or a jar that can be tightly covered.

8. Attention should also be given to butter that is cut from the supply for the table or for cooking purposes and that is not entirely used. Such butter should never be returned to the original supply, but should be kept in a separate receptacle and used for cooking. If it contains foreign material, it can be clarified by allowing it to stand after it has melted until this has settled and then dipping or pouring the clear fat from the top. Butter that has become rancid or has developed a bad flavor need not be wasted either, for it can be made ready for use in cooking simply by pouring boiling water over it, allowing it to cool, and then removing the layer of fat that comes to the top. Such butter, of course, cannot be used for serving on the table. Still, consideration on the part of the housewife to just such matters as these will prevent much of the waste that prevails in the household in the use of this food.

9. COOKING WITH BUTTER.--While some housewives make it a practice to use butter in cooking of all kinds, there are uses in which other fats are preferable; or, in case butter is desired, there are certain points to be observed in its use. For instance, butter is rendered less digestible by cooking it at a high temperature, as in frying or sauteing; also, it cannot be used to any extent for the frying of foods, as it burns very readily. If it is used for sauteing, the dish is made much more expensive than is necessary, so that in most cases a cheaper fat should be employed for this purpose. In addition, a point to remember is that this fat should not be used to grease the pans in which cakes and hot breads are baked unless it is first melted, because the milk contained in the butter burns easily; after it is melted, only the top fat should be used. When butter is desired for very rich cakes and for pastry, it is usually washed in cold water to remove the milk. To neutralize the sour milk contained in butter that is used for baking purposes, a little soda is sometimes employed.

Further economy can be exercised in the use of butter if a little thought is given to the matter. For instance, when butter is melted and poured over meat or fish that has been broiled or over vegetables that have been cooked in a plain way, much of it usually remains in the dish and is wasted. Such butter can be utilized again. Since butter undergoes a change when it is cooked, it should be mixed with cooked foods to flavor them, rather than be subjected to the temperature necessary for cooking.

When butter is used for spreading sandwiches, it usually will be found advisable to soften the butter by creaming it with a spoon, but it should never be melted for this purpose.

10. SERVING BUTTER.--When butter is used for the table, some consideration must be given to the serving of it. Probably the most usual way of serving butter is to place a slice of it on a plate and then pass the plate with a knife to each person at the table. The advantage of this method is that each person can take the amount desired and thus prevent waste. However, a still more desirable way of serving butter that is to be passed is to cut it into small cubes or squares or to shape it into small balls and then serve it with a fork or a butter knife. To prevent the pieces or balls of butter from melting in warm weather, cracked ice may be placed on the butter dish with them. Butter cut into cubes or squares may also be served on an individual butter dish or an individual bread-and-butter plate placed at each person's place before the meal is served. Whichever plan is adopted, any fragments of butter that remain on the plates after a meal should be gathered up and used for cooking purposes.

11. Butter that comes in pound prints lends itself readily to the cutting of small cubes or squares for serving. Such butter may be cut by drawing a string through the print or by using a knife whose cutting edge is covered with paper, a small piece of the oiled paper such as that in which the butter is wrapped answering very well for this purpose.

If butter balls are desired for serving, they may be rolled with butter paddles in the manner shown in Fig. 1. To make butter balls, put wads of the butter to be used into ice water so as to make them hard. Then place each wad between the paddles, as shown, and give the paddles a circular motion. After a little practice, it will be a simple matter to make butter balls that will add to the attractiveness of any meal. Paddles made especially for this purpose can be purchased in all stores that sell kitchen utensils.

12. Sometimes, for practical purposes, it is desired to know the quantity of butter that is served to each person. In the case of print butter, this is a simple matter to determine. As shown in Fig. 2, first mark the pound print in the center in order to divide it in half; after cutting it into two pieces, cut each half into two, and finally each fourth into two. With the pound print cut into eight pieces, divide and cut each eighth into four pieces. As there will be thirty-two small pieces, each one will represent one thirty-second of a pound, or 1/2 ounce.

BUTTER SUBSTITUTES

13. In about the year 1870, through a desire to procure a cheaper article than butter for the poorer classes of France, came the manufacture of the first substitute for butter. Since that time the use of butter substitutes has gradually increased, until at the present time millions of pounds are consumed every year. A certain amount of prejudice against their use exists, but much of this is unnecessary for they are less likely to be contaminated with harmful bacteria than the poorer qualities of butter. Then, too, they do not spoil so readily, and for this reason they can be handled with greater convenience than butter.

14. OLEOMARGARINE.--The best substitute for butter and the one most largely used is called oleomargarine, which in the United States alone constitutes about two and 1/2 per cent. of all the fat used as butter. This fat is called by various other names, such as _margarine,_ and _butterine_, but oleomargarine is the name by which the United States authorities recognize the product. It is made by churning fats other than butter fat with milk or cream until a butterlike consistency is obtained. Originally, pure beef fat was employed for this purpose, and while beef fat is used to a great extent at present, lard, cottonseed oil, coconut oil, and peanut oil are also used. Whatever fats are selected are churned with milk, cream, and, for the finest grades, a considerable percentage of the very best pure butter. After they are churned, the oleomargarine is worked, salted, and packed in the same manner as butter.

15. The manufacture and sale of butter substitutes are controlled by laws that, while they do not specify the kind of fat to be used, state that all mixtures of butter with other fats must be sold as oleomargarine. They also require that a tax of 10 cents a pound be paid on all artificially colored oleomargarine; therefore, while coloring matter is used in some cases, this product is usually sold without coloring. In such an event, coloring matter is given with each pound of oleomargarine that is sold. Before using the oleomargarine, this coloring matter is simply worked into the fat until it is evenly colored.

16. RENOVATED BUTTER.--Another substitute that is sometimes used to take the place of the best grades of butter is renovated, or process, butter. This is obtained by purifying butter that is dirty and rancid and that contains all sorts of foreign material and then rechurning it with fresh cream or milk. The purifying process consists in melting the butter, removing the scum from the top, as well as the buttermilk, brine, and foreign materials that settle, and then blowing air through the fat to remove any odors that it might contain. Butter that is thus purified is replaced on the market, but in some states the authorities have seen fit to restrict its sale. While such restrictions are without doubt justifiable, it is possible to buy butter that is more objectionable than renovated, or process, butter, but that has no restriction on it.

17. METHOD OF TESTING BUTTER SUBSTITUTES.--Very often oleomargarine and process butter bear such a close resemblance to genuine butter that it is almost impossible to detect the difference. However, there is a simple test by which these substitutes can always be distinguished from butter, and this should be applied whenever there is any doubt about the matter. To make this test, place the fat in a tablespoon or a small dish and heat it directly over the flame until it boils, stirring it occasionally to assist in the melting. If it is oleomargarine or process butter, it will sputter noisily and take on a curdled appearance; whereas, if it is butter, it will melt and even boil without sputtering although it foams to a certain extent.

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CHEESE

CHARACTERISTICS AND CARE OF CHEESE

18. ORIGIN, PRODUCTION, AND USE OF CHEESE.--Cheese is a product that is manufactured from the solids of milk, and it provides a valuable food. The making of cheese was known in ancient times, it having probably originated through a desire to utilize an oversupply of milk. When cheese was first made, the fact that bacteria were present was not known, nor were the reasons for the spoiling of milk understood; but it was learned that milk can be kept if most of its water is removed. This discovery was very important, for it led to various methods of making cheese and proved that cheese making was a satisfactory and convenient means of storing nourishment in a form that was not bulky and that would keep for long periods of time. From a very small beginning, the different methods of making cheese became popular, until at the present time more than three hundred varieties are made and their manufacture forms one of the large industries of the world.

In the United States, nearly all the cheese used up to about 50 years ago was made on farms, and to a great extent by housewives, but about that time a factory for the making of this product was started in the state of New York, and it proved a profitable enterprise. From this beginning, the business of making cheese commercially in this country has grown until now cheese is almost entirely a factory-made product, in the manufacture of which the states of New York and Wisconsin lead.

19. In either the commercial or the home production of cheese, skim milk with all or part of the cream removed is used for some varieties, while whole milk is used for others, the composition depending largely on the kind of milk that is employed. Rennet is added to the milk to coagulate it, and then the curd, from which nearly all the water is removed, is allowed to ripen. To produce characteristic odors, flavors, and consistency, various coloring and flavoring materials, as well as bacteria, are added to the curd. The action of these bacteria is really the chief factor in the making of cheese and they are therefore not only desirable but necessary. Non-desirable bacteria, however, result in the formation of bad odors, flavors, and gases in the finished product and these must be carefully guarded against by cheese makers.

20. Cheese offers a valuable source of nutriment for the body, because its food value ranks high. As is shown in Fig. 3, the food value in 1 pound of cheese is equivalent to that in 2 pounds of beef, that in 24 eggs, or that in 4 pounds of fish. The use of cheese, however, is not nearly so great as its food value warrants, the amount used in the United States per capita being only about 3-1/2 pounds annually. This is a condition that should be overcome, for there is a large variety of ways in which cheese can be used to advantage in the diet. When eaten raw, it is very appetizing, and when used with soups, sauces, and foods that have a bland taste, it lends additional flavor and makes an especially attractive dish. In addition, the fact that it is an economical food and can be conveniently kept and stored should recommend its frequent use.

21. COMPOSITION OF CHEESE.--Since cheese is a product of milk, it is somewhat similar to milk in composition, but the change that occurs in the formation of cheese causes some differences. Nearly all the water present in milk is removed during the manufacture of cheese, so that this product becomes a concentrated food made up of all the nourishment that milk contains except small amounts of albumin, milk sugar, and mineral matter. These, because they are in solution in the water, are lost when the whey is separated from the curd. The food substances that occur in the largest amounts are fat and protein in the form of casein, which is the tissue-building material of milk. Cheese made from milk that contains some cream has in it a greater amount of fat than that made from completely skimmed milk. Besides these two chief food substances, cheese contains a small amount of milk sugar, mineral matter, and water.