Abstract
IT is now doubtless known to most people that much of what by courtesy goes by the name of butter is only very distantly related to the dahyproduce which has hitherto enjoyed a prescriptive right to that appellation. If any of our readers were ignorant of this fact, the interesting and instructive statement which the Chairman of Committee, in his capacity as a private member, laid before the House during the last Session will have fully enlightened them on that point, as indeed it enlightened, and seemingly astonished, Honourable Members. During the past ten years a new industry has been created. It came into existence very quietly, and under the taint of illegitimacy, and consequently the world in general knew very little about it. Thanks, however, to the operations of Sanitary Boards, Officers of Health, and Food Analysts, it was eventually dragged out into the light of day, when, despite the circumstance that the greater part of its existence had been spent in out-of-the-way places and without the fostering recognition of authority, it stood revealed as an astonishingly well-grown and highly prosperous business. The industry in the outset was set going to manufacture a product from beef-suet to be used in the adulteration of butter, and enormous quantities of this product were made in this country and in America for this purpose. The fraud was, however, so repeatedly exposed, and convictions against grocers and others selling this adulterated butter were so frequently obtained, that the vendors were driven to so far take the public into their confidence as to declare that the product was “a butter-substitute,” and hence arose the euphemism of “butterine,” by which it became generally known. Now these remarks are in no sense derogatory to the value of this product as an article of food. We quite agree with Dr. Playfair that “butterine” may be, and frequently is, very much better than many qualities of butter; but this fact cannot be held to defend or extenuate the practice of substituting “butterine” for butter without the knowledge and consent of the purchaser. The common-sense of buyers and sellers has practically settled this point. The manufacture of “butterine ” has now reached such extraordinary proportions that we are bound to recognise it as a legitimate industry: the substance is now sold openly for what it is and on its merits, and it is perfectly obvious that it supplies a public demand. A recent report by Mr. Bate-man to the Board of Trade, on the manufacture of these “butter substitutes” in the United States, throws fresh light on the subject, and the statistics which the report contains are calculated to afford a very precise idea as to the magnitude of the industry. The greater part of the substance is made in the States by the patented method of M. Mége Mouries. The process is as follows:—The beef suet, on arriving at the factory, is thrown into tanks containing tepid water, and after standing a short time it is repeatedly washed in cold water, and disintegrated and separated from fibre bypassing through a “meat-hasher” worked by steam, after which it is forced through a fine sieve. It is then melted by surrounding the tanks with water of a temperature of about 120° F.; great care is taken not to exceed this point, otherwise the fat would begin to decompose and acquire a flavour of tallow. After being well stirred, the adipose membrane subsides to the bottom of the tank, and is separated under the name of “scrap,”whilst a clear yellow oil is left above, together with a film of white oily substance. This is removed by skimming, and the yellow oil is drawn off and allowed to solidify. The refined fat, as the substance is now termed, is then taken to the press-room, which is kept at a temperature of about 90° F., and is packed in cotton cloths and placed in galvanised iron plates in a press; on being subjected to pressure oil flows away, and cakes of pure white stearine remain: these find their way to the candle-makers. The oil is known as “oleo-margarine”: it is packed in barrels for sale or export, or is directly made into “butterine” by adding 10 per cent, of milk to it, and churning the mixture. The product is coloured with annato and rolled with ice to “set” it; salt then added, and the “butterine” is ready for packing in kegs. The taste of “butterine”is described as being similar to that of second-class butter, but it is rather more salt; owing to the very small quantity of the characteristic fats of natural butter—the so-called “butyrin,” “caprin,” &c., which it contains, it lacks the flavour of high-class butter. On the other hand, as these fats are specially liable to become rancid, butterine is free from the disgusting smell and taste of the lowest class butters.
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T. Olea-Margarine . Nature 25, 269–270 (1882). https://doi.org/10.1038/025269a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/025269a0