Milk, Etc.

Milk is sophisticated by robbing it of its cream, or by adding to it “The milk of the cow with the iron tail,” and by coloring it. Cream contains about 40 per cent. of fat and 55 per cent. of water; SKIMMED MILK is water, with sugar and caseine. Whey is merely a solution of milk sugar with a little albumen. Milk is best and most plentiful in spring, and richer but less abundant in dry seasons. The last milk drawn from the cow contains most cream. Koumiss, the use of which is rapidly increasing, is well skimmed milk, treated with a lactic ferment for 30 or 40 hours. It is very easy of digestion. Condensed milk is ordinary milk evaporated so that three pints are reduced to one. It soon spoils unless the air is excluded. Preserved milk in cans contains about one-third its weight of sugar.

Butter.

Good, fresh butter, contains 84 to 88 parts of milk fat, 10 or 12 parts of moisture, and a little milk sugar, caseine and salt. inferior butter may contain as much as 33 per cent. of water, or buttermilk, and salt. The more buttermilk left in, the sooner the butter grows rancid, while over-working tends to make it soft and oily. The melting of butter changes its physical properties, and long exposure to the air injures the best butter.

Good butter is solid and of a grained texture, has a fine orange yellow color and a pleasant aroma. It may comfort the curious to know that its odor is due to a very little butyric acid, combined with oxide of lipyle. To test the quantity of moisture, put a little of the butter in a bottle, heat gently, and leave near the fire for half an hour, when the butter will rise, leaving the water and salt at the bottom. Two-thirds of all the butter made is colored.

Classification of Butter.

The New York Mercantile Exchange classification, which is standard, is as follows: Eastern Creamery, Sweet Cream Creamery, Dairy Butter, Western Creamery, Imitation Creamery, and Dairy, also “Ladle” and “Grease Butter.”

Creamery Butter is the best. It is such as is made from the cream obtained by setting the milk at the creamery, or by the system known as “Cream gathering,” by which the farmer delivers his cream to the creamery to be churned or made into butter. Butter made under the former system, or from the milk, is better than that made from the gathered cream. Sweet Cream Creamery is made from unfermented cream.

Dairy Butter is that which is made, salted, and packed by the dairyman or farmer. Though often really excellent, it is less uniform in quality, and therefore less reliable.

Ladle Butter.—This is butter of all seasons, ages, and qualities, collected by the dealer, in rolls, lumps, or packages, from the farm houses, salted, or unsalted, as the case may be, and by him reworked, resalted, colored, and packed.

Grades of Butter.—The varieties are all graded again into “Extras,” “Extra Firsts,” “Firsts,” “Seconds,” “Thirds,” etc. “Extras” are the choicest grades under each classification, and must come up to the following standard. Flavor must be perfect if fresh made, and fine if held; body perfect and uniform, color good for the season when made, perfect and uniform; must be properly salted, and in good and uniform packages. “Extra Firsts” must be a grade just below “Extras,” and fine butter; good color, etc., etc. “Firsts” must be clean and sweet, sound and good. “Seconds” must be fair throughout, may be strong if held, on tops and sides of package. “Thirds” may be off-flavored, etc. “Poor Butter” may be strong, and of all grades below “Thirds” down to “Grease Butter.”

Artificial Butter.

About 20 years ago a French chemist tried to imitate the process which takes place when cows are underfed, and when, therefore, the butter they yield is supplied from their own fat. His aim was to make a substitute for butter for the poor, etc., which should be healthful, agreeable and cheap, and which should keep a long time without becoming rancid. The man’s name was Mege-Mouries, and he discovered Oleomargarine. This product has been, and is still extensively manufactured in the United States, and is pronounced by some of the most eminent and scientific men to be wholesome, nutritious and palatable.

Oleomargarine is made from the fat of slaughtered cattle. This is melted at a temperature of 150 deg. F., and the stearine extracted. The “Oleo oil” which is left is now churned with cream or milk, colored and salted.

Butterine is made from oleo oil, neutral lard, and some butter. These ingredients are churned with milk or cream, colored, salted and packed in tubs. Refined cotton seed oil is also frequently used in the manufacture of both products.

Oleomargarine Laws.

In 1886 Congress passed the “Oleomargarine Bill,” defining butter to be an article made solely from milk and cream. It imposes a tax of two cents per pound upon oleomargarine and similar butter substitutes, compels their sale in certain sized packages, plainly marked or branded with the name of their contents, and requires manufacturers and dealers to take out special licenses, all under heavy penalties. Some of the State laws, restricting the sale of oleomargarine, are still more stringent, and its consumption has diminished, although it is still used in some sections and extensively exported.

Cheese.

No article of food appears to be more affected than cheese by slight variations of the materials from which it is made, or by such apparently trifling differences in the methods of manufacture. Both full and skimmed milk are used; the former yielding, of course, the best product. The latter cheese is little used in this country. An English writer says that if milk is skimmed for several days, “it yields a cheese so hard that pigs grunt at it, dogs bark at it, but neither dare bite it.” People’s tastes vary greatly in the flavor of cheese, and while some prefer the natural tint, others buy that which is colored. Color adds neither richness nor flavor, and is gradually falling into disuse.

Cheese as a Staple Food.

Some nations (as Great Britain, etc.,) consume cheese largely as a staple food, while others use it more sparingly, and mainly as a condiment or relish. Bread and cheese consort better with ale than with whiskey and this country is not greatly given to cheese as a staple food, although its consumption is increasing here, owing to recent improvements in the modes of manufacture and in its quality. Two-thirds of our total product now goes to Europe.

Analysis of Full and Skim Milk Cheese.

The composition of cheese is given as follows:

	Rich cheese.	Skim milk cheese.
Water	36	44
Casein	29	45
Milk fat	30-1/2	6
Salt and phosphates	4-1/2	5

Good and Poor Cheese.

Cheese dries fast and shrinks in weight; hence the grocer who sells it in small quantities is compelled to charge a fair margin or advance upon its cost to save himself from loss. The ordinary weight of American cheeses is about 60 lbs., but smaller ones are growing in favor, and many are now made weighing from 35 to 40 lbs. A grocer who has a good class of custom soon realizes that our poor cheese takes the place of several good ones, and it is his aim to secure a good and popular quality and stick to it.

Facts About Cheese.

The best cheese is made from the rich June grasses, the poorest in the heats of summer. June cheese is safest to keep, as the curds are then scalded higher, to ensure that they will sustain the coming warm weather. Cheese may be made for immediate use—and such will grow sharp if long kept—or it may be so made as to keep a year or more with constant improvement or ripening. It requires about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.

“Filled” Cheese is made by substituting lard in place of the cream of the milk. Ten pounds of such cheese contains about 1 pound of lard. This product is largely made in some sections, and is chiefly sold in the South or exported.

Classification of Cheese.

Cheese made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has the first “Call” in the New York Mercantile Exchange. “Fancy” must be full cream, perfect in flavor, close made, well cured, of uniform color and perfect surface. “Fine” is the next grade below—must be also full cream, clean flavor, etc. “Known Marks” or Factory Cheese may not be full cream. “Western Cheese” “Shall include those of all States not mentioned above and shall be classified as fancy, fine, and known marks, but they may not be full cream.”

Imported Cheese.

Swiss Cheese comes from Switzerland, and more of this is imported than of all others combined. Next stands Edam from Holland. The delicious Roquefort Cheese, made in France, from ewes milk and kept in mountain caves to ripen, stands third in the list of imported cheeses, and Parmesan stands fourth; it is made from skimmed milk, the curd hardened by a gentle heat. This and SBRINZ cheese are used for soups—grated. Gorgonzola is a fine, rich, Italian cheese, each weighing about ten pounds. Other good Italian cheeses are made from the milk of the buffalo which feed on the Roman Campagna. Stilton is the finest of English cheeses. It is made from full milk with added cream. It improves with age, and is best when at least two years old. The Cheddar, Cheshire and Queen’s Arms are other varieties of good English cheese.

Eggs.

Eggs are cheap and substantial food. The white is mostly albumen, while the yolk is two-thirds oil. Turkeys eggs are pronounced the best in flavor. Guinea hens eggs are excellent, and keep well on account of their thick shells. Goose eggs are larger, whiter, and less esteemed. Duck eggs are bluish, and less desirable than hens eggs. Eight hens eggs weigh a pound.

A fresh egg feels heavy in the hand and is semi-transparent before the light. Its large end feels warm to the tongue. The older it is, the less pleasant and nutritious it becomes. If it stands upright in water it is bad; if obliquely it is not quite fresh. If it lies at the bottom it is quite fresh. An egg begins to lose flavor a few hours after it has been laid.

Lard.

Good, pure lard should be white, should melt without ebullition or sputtering, be almost as clear and white as water, and not deposit any sediment. It is composed of oleine 62 parts, stearine 65 parts. The fat of the hog taken from around the kidneys and the layers over the ribs is called “Leaf lard” and is better, firmer and will stand warm weather better, than lard made from the entire fat of the animal.

Lard Admixtures.—There is no complaint that lard is adulterated with substances injurious to health; but in February, 1888, a leading lard manufacturer testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, at Washington, that seven-eighths of the lard now on the market is made from the entire fat of the hog, refined and purified, and mixed with a proportion of refined cotton seed oil and about 15 per cent. of stearine, to give it hardness. This, he claimed, is preferred by the public generally to strictly pure lard. The testimony of Prof. Sharpless, of Boston, given at the same time and place, substantially bore out this statement as to the ingredients used, although in the many analyses of American lard made by him, he found some brands which were absolutely pure hog products. Lard is sometimes adulterated with water, but this may be easily detected by melting it, evaporating the water, and reweighing.

Lard may be had in barrels, wooden and tin tubs and pails, and in one pound tin cups. It is also retailed in bulk, like butter.

Fresh Meats and Poultry.

Beef.—Good beef should be juicy, somewhat firm and elastic, velvety and smooth grained to the touch, and “marbled” with little streaks, dots or points of fat. The suet fat should be plentiful, white, firm, dry, and crumbly; if the fat is yellow, oily, or fibrous, the beef is inferior.

Mutton is wholesome, nutritious, and easily digested. The best is from a plump, small boned animal, with abundant white, clear, solid fat. The lean should be firm, dark red, and juicy, the leg bones clear, white, and short. Good Lamb has hard, white fat and reddish bones.

Pork is best in fall and winter. The skin should be thin and pearly, the lean a delicate red, juicy, firm, and finely grained, and the fat white. If the fat is yellow and soft, the pork is inferior. Pork is dangerous if not thoroughly cooked.

Veal should be from a good sized, reasonably fat milk or stall fed calf, five to ten weeks old. The fat should be firm and white, but not too white; the meat finely grained, fairly firm, and juicy.

Poultry.—Many farmers have found that it pays better to feed their grain to poultry than to sell it by the bushel, and poultry is therefore much more abundant, cheaper, and more widely consumed than ever before. The dry-picked or unscalded has the preference in price. The best have short legs and small bones, and are plump. If fresh, the eyes are bright and full, the feet and legs moist and limber. If stale, poultry looks dark and slimy. When chickens grow to be a year old they are called fowl; the legs grow rougher, the skin fat and tougher, and the rear end of the breast bone hard. A moderate sized TURKEY is more apt to be tender than a very large one.

Smoked and Dried Meats and Fish.

Hams, etc.—The best are of medium size, weighing, say, from 8 to 14 pounds, plump, round, and the bone small. The shank should be short and tapering, skin thin and not shriveled or wrinkled, and the fat white and firm. To ascertain if ham has begun to spoil, thrust a skewer or knife in at the side of the aitch bone and at the knuckle joint; if sound there, it is good throughout. Bacon.—This is the smoked flank. Breakfast Bacon, made from young pigs, is very delicate and palatable. Beef Tongues are a delicacy, whether fresh, smoked, or pickled, hot or cold. The best are thick, firm, and with plenty of fat on the under side of the base.

Dried Cod.—This is an important grocers’ staple. The largest and best are caught on the “Banks” or in the deep waters off the Eastern coast. Some are sold whole and others are deprived of the back bone. Codfish is also prepared for market by being boned, skinned, trimmed, and even shredded. Other and inferior fish, such as Haddock, Hake, Pollock, etc., are often sold for cod, when salted, and especially when prepared as above.

Herring, smoked whole, or scaled and boneless, are widely consumed. The freshest, fattest, and largest are best. Smoked SALMON, HALIBUT, and STURGEON, are appetizing relishes for the summer tea table. There are also EELS pickled in jelly. SARDELLES—small fish packed in highly salted milk, smoked SPRATS, ANCHOVIES, etc.

Salt or Pickled Fish.

Mackerel have the front rank in this line, and there are few good tables on which they do not occasionally appear. They are sold by the grocer in barrels and fractions of barrels, in kits of 20, 15, and 10 pounds, in tins, minus heads and tails, and by the single fish. The best are the fattest, largest, and freshest of the current season. They should be free from rust and soaked before cooking until all the brine is drawn out. They can be afterwards salted, if necessary. They are graded as “Extra” and “Fancy” “Shores” and “Bays,” and vary in size and fatness, as numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Salmon, etc.—Both Halifax and Oregon salmon are pickled or salted, and in demand in many sections of the country, and pickled SALMON BELLIES are very fine. Herring and COD are also to be had in brine.

Meat Essences and Extracts.

There are several varieties of these articles in liquids, pastes, and solids. Some, at least, of them, without being true nutrients are excellent as condiments, stimulants, and tonics for digestion. Meat juices contain a substance called kreatine, which is similar in its exhilarating properties to the peculiar principles of tea and coffee. Fifty pounds of meat are said to be required to make one pound of Liebig’s meat extract. These preparations are valuable additions to other foods, but all that is needed for nourishment should be added to them.