It possesses the property of absorption of odors in a
curious degree; and if shut in a tight closet or a refrigerator with fish,
meat, or vegetables of rank or even pronounced smell, exchanges its own
delicate aroma for theirs, and reaches us bereft once for all of what is
the real charm of perfect butter. For this reason absolute cleanliness and
daintiness of vessels containing milk or cream, or used in any way in the
manufacture of butter, is one of the first laws of the dairy.
_Ghee_, the East-Indian form of butter, is simply fresh butter clarified
by melting, and is used as a dressing for the meal of rice. Butter, though
counted as a pure fat, is in reality made up of at least six fatty
principles, there being sixty-eight per cent of margarine and thirty per
cent of oleine, the remainder being volatile compounds of fatty acids. In
the best specimens of butter there is a slight amount of caseine, not over
five per cent at most, though in poor there is much more. It is the only
fat which may be constantly eaten without harm to the stomach, though if
not perfectly good it becomes an irritant.
The _Drippings_ of roasted meat, more especially of beef, rank next in
value; and _Lard_ comes last on the list, its excessive use being a
serious evil.
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