Johan Ditlev Frederiksen

“ Occasionally the milk may be subjected to the Babcock Test to ascertain its richness; three or four times during the period of lactation is sufficient.
Where farmers do not have time to do the testing themselves they often combine and hire a young man or woman, trained in an agricultural college, to go around from farm to farm and do the work. These experts not only test the yield and the percentage of fat but also weigh and compute the feed so as to help the farmer make up his rations and calculate whether each cow pays for her feed or not. ”

“ Ripened with a pure culture of lactic acid bacteria, it makes a healthful, refreshing drink, like buttermilk. Only when it is allowed to sour without proper care or control does skim milk, as whole milk does, become unfit for food or drink. On a cold winter morning when men are going to work (or perhaps are looking for work which they cannot find) , and children are on their way to school, often underfed, a street-corner wagon or stand where boiling hot, fresh, sweet skim milk might be distributed at a cent or two a glass would be a blessing in any city. ”

“ The truth is probably that strong pasteurization at a temperature above 157° and holding the heated milk unnecessarily long at such high temperature do change the properties of the milk so as to make it harder to digest, but that the main difficulty is in the change of diet from raw to pasteurized milk or vice versa. Let the child get used to the change by making it gradual, diminishing the amount of one and increasing the amount of the other from day to day in a week, until the change is completed, and there will usually be little if any trouble. ”

“ When the child is big enough to thrive on undiluted, unmodified cow’s milk, it should not only be allowed, but urged, to continue on a diet in which this, the best of all foods, is the most essential part. An excellent form in which to feed milk to the growing child is junket. Eaten slowly with a spoon as a pudding, it is exposed to the action of digestion much better than milk swallowed by the glassful in a hurry and even if it is cold there is no danger of defective rennet action in the stomach because such action has already taken place. ”

“ Attempts have been made to use pure cultures of the bacteria active in such fermentations and so reduce the art of cheesemaking to a more scientific process. But it has been found that any desired kind of cheese cannot be made simply by adding a culture of this or that bacterium to pasteurized milk. Of vastly greater importance for the development of the proper bacteria and flavor is the handling of the milk and the curd by the experienced cheesemaker. Inoculation with a pure culture alone does not make the special cheese wanted. ”

“ Fallacy of Theoretical Valuation.—While the contents of protein and the ratio between digestible protein and fats and carbohydrates on one hand, and the fuel or energy value on the other, have long been the only recognized measures for food values, they are admittedly quite inadequate and insufficient and although they are a great help when used with discrimination in making up food rations, they are often abused by persons who do not take their fallacies into consideration. ”

“ When the modified milk can be obtained from a dairy laboratory where it is prepared with scientific care and accuracy, it is better to use it than to depend on home-made preparations, and in many cases a doctor’s prescription may be necessary. Even if the modified cow’s milk is prepared so as to contain apparently the same proportion of the various groups of nutrients as mother’s milk, there may still be some essential difference. ”

“ But even frost does not kill the bacteria. If milk which has been kept sweet or at the desired degree of sourness by cooling is allowed to get warm again, the bacteria which have been kept dormant will get a fresh start. For this reason milk and cream for city supply should not only be cooled strongly, but must be kept thoroughly chilled up to the time they are used, which means that they should be delivered cool to the consumer, and kept on ice in the house, never being allowed to warm up until used. ”

“ In order to modify or “humanize” cow’s milk so as to make its composition nearly the same as that of mother’s milk, simple dilution with water is therefore not sufficient.
There are, however, various other methods which may be used to advantage. For instance, top-milk from a bottle of fresh milk which has stood 4 or 6 hours in ice water will contain 6 to 8% of fat. By diluting this with an equal part of water, the percentage of protein, fat and mineral matter will be about right, and sugar, either cane-sugar or milk-sugar, may be added to supply the carbohydrates. ”

“ In the bacteriological laboratory, where alone absolute sterility of utensils and medium, and entire exclusion of foreign infection are possible, the culture may remain pure while this inoculation and propagation are repeated over and over again. But when the propagation is carried on in the house or the dairy, for instance in preparing starters or buttermilk, such absolute cleanliness is impossible and in the long run infections will creep in from the air or from the utensils and after a while it becomes necessary to start with a new “pure culture.” ”

“ There was a time during the war when, frightened by the soaring of the price which had remained remarkably low for many years, much too low in fact compared with the cost of other food, people began to cut down the consumption of milk to an alarming extent. ”

“ We mention these experiments as a warning against placing too great reliance on the caloric theory or the relation of nutrients in making up food rations. We have yet much to learn and the good housewife trying to cook according to scientific rules will do well not to neglect the palatability of the food, but to watch the “instinct” which causes the child or the adult to reject or approve of, and enjoy, the food, which in most cases is a better guide than calories or protein contents, or the ration between the various groups of nutrients. ”

“ The half-skimmed milk left when the top-milk has been removed after 3 to 6 hours’ setting will still contain 2% or more of butter-fat and is very good for drinking; even the skim milk from which the cream has been taken after 12 hours’ setting is still an excellent beverage, provided it is sweet. Perfectly skimmed, almost entirely fatless, milk may be used in various ways in cooking, to make up for lack of protein in many other food products. But care must be taken that it is pure and sweet, or rather, its condition, sweet or sour, must be under the perfect control of the housekeeper. ”

“ Partially skimmed milk containing from 1% to 2% butter-fat is plenty rich enough and even better for most purposes than whole milk. The essential qualities of good buttermilk depend upon the proper ripening of the cream or milk, the development of a pure “breed” of healthful bacteria in a clean field free from weeds. Such a plantation or “culture” may be grown in milk as well as in cream. Its function is to turn the sugar of milk into lactic acid under the development of pleasing flavors and whether the butter-fat is removed by the separator or by churning makes little difference. ”

“ The process is not commendable and while it may sell to some extent, in certain markets where a soft, fresh cheese is liked, “washed” or “soaked” curd cheese can never compare favorably in quality with a well-made, firm Cheddar cheese that is mellowed down by long-time curing to a consistency so it will fairly melt in your mouth.
Composition.—The American cheese contains almost all the casein and the butter-fat of the milk, besides such portions of the milk-albumin, milk-sugar, and mineral matter as are held in the water or whey which is retained in the cheese. ”

“ That, although milk is a liquid, it contains a large amount of solid food and of exceedingly nourishing, palatable and easily digestible food, much more than many vegetables or fruits. While milk has 13% of solid matter, water-melon has only 2%, turnips 4%, beets 12%, etc. When substituting milk for water, you add nourishment to the food and it is well to keep in mind the ingredients,—the amount of protein, fat, etc., added in the form of milk, which may take the place of other similar ingredients in the combination. ”

“ No farmers’ association can be strong enough to ignore the law of supply and demand, and it is only quite recently that the Dairymen’s League has succeeded in influencing the market by taking into consideration the actual cost of production of milk as worked out by the agricultural colleges, and fixing the price on a scientific basis. ”

“ In some homes milk in some form is a part of every menu and the meals are more delicious, attractive and nourishing than the ordinary milkless diet, and are also less expensive, as the milk takes the place of part of the meat. ”

“ People who have visited the beautiful National Dairy Shows held in turn in Chicago, Springfield, Mass., and Columbus, O., the National Milk and Dairy Farm Expositions of New York City, the Ontario Provincial Fair held each year at Toronto, or the annual State Fairs in New York, Wisconsin, Michigan and other cheesemaking sections will have in mind first the prominent exhibits of the regular Cheddar, showing a uniformity in texture, form and taste that is really remarkable. ”

“ The yolk of eggs and butter-fat contain this unknown something which is absolutely essential for the growth of the child and which is missing in most substitutes, especially in lard and vegetable fats.
The rat on the left got five per cent of cottonseed oil and the one on the right got instead one and a half per cent of butter-fat, otherwise their rations were alike. These results are typical for any ration made up of purified foodstuffs with butter-fat in them as compared with any fat of plant origin. The plant fats lack an unknown something without which growth cannot proceed. ”

“ Cereals so prepared make an especially good wholesome breakfast or supper for school children and the writer has never seen an adult, who, on a cold night, did not enjoy a dish of rice, or corn meal, boiled in milk and served with cream and sugar for supper. Milk cereals must always be cooked in a double boiler and the milk must be hot when the cereal is added.
Cream of Wheat or Farina Pudding is also delicious. It is prepared in the same way, but 3⁄4 cup of cereal only is added to 1 quart hot milk. Just before serving, a teaspoonful of vanilla is added, and two beaten eggs are folded in. ”

“ It has the disadvantage that many farmers can hardly be expected to handle all of these separators as skilfully and cleanly as the creamery expert can run his one or few machines, and consequently that the skimming is more or less imperfect—more butter-fat being left in the skim milk and more impurities in the cream than in the whole-milk creamery. But in practice the advantages of the hand separator and cream-gathering system seem to be greater than the disadvantages and it is rapidly taking the place of the whole-milk creameries. ”

“ But it has proven good business because in many cases and places skim milk powder and butter keep better separately or can be shipped at long distance to better advantage than new milk or cream or condensed milk. In ice cream factories business may be dull in cold weather and cream is perhaps not provided and not available, when suddenly a hot spell brings orders for large quantities. With a stock of skim milk powder and butter on hand in the refrigerator, and an emulsifier to mix these products, cream can be produced on short notice and there will be no danger of shortage. ”

“ New York City alone consumes 1,600,000 quarts of milk a day, but even this enormous quantity means only 0.6 pint per capita. The consuming public has been slow to realize the value of milk and its products, and too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the fact that even at the largely increased cost of all dairy products they are still some of the cheapest and the most healthful of foods, especially for growing children, and should be used in much larger quantities. ”

“ As the value of milk and its products for human food became more generally recognized and all-the-year-round production was forced, it was found necessary to feed the cows heavily in winter too, not only hay, but also grain and succulent food such as beets and corn-ensilage (green corn cut, stalks, cobs and all, and packed in a silo) , and science was taken into play to formulate Balanced Rations containing the proper amounts and proportions of the various nutrients—Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates. ”

“ Qualities.—A good Cheddar cheese should be mellow, yet solid, without holes, and of an agreeable taste, neither sharp nor bitter. Cheese can be made of skim milk, but it is hardly palatable. In the fall of the year, when the average milk is rich in butter-fat, 1% or 2% butter-fat may be taken from the milk and the resulting partly-skimmed milk will still make a fairly good cheese, hardly distinguishable from full cream cheese. ”

“ Cooling Essential.—If buttermilk is left to stand for hours in a warm room, fermentation goes on and may soon spoil the buttermilk by making it sloppy or bitter. It should therefore be cooled at once when drawn from the churn; if kept in ice water it may remain in fine flavor for several days. Well taken care of it is not only a pleasing and refreshing drink but eminently healthful. In cooking, too, it can be used to advantage.
Commercial Buttermilk or Cultured Milk is simply carefully soured milk. It can be made at home from fresh milk either whole or skimmed or partly skimmed. ”

“ For instance, the protein in human milk consists mainly of albumin, while that of cow’s milk is mostly casein. It is often a question whether the individual baby can digest the casein without trouble. A trifle of rennet ferment,—a fraction of a Junket Tablet,—added to the modified cow’s milk just before feeding may be beneficial to overcome that defect. A little limewater also is healthful as it neutralizes any acid that may develop in the mixture. For the particular needs of the individual baby, a competent doctor should be asked to prescribe. ”

“ When the milk begins to curdle it stops running out. The sweeter the milk is the more will run out before coagulation stops it and the mark on the scale at which it stops indicates the degree of acidity or ripening. The point is to have the milk alike every day and if, for instance, the cheesemaker has found that his cheese is best if he adds the rennet to the milk in the vat when the test shows 21⁄2, he wants to ripen the milk to that degree every day. ”

“ More rennet does not make a firmer curd but causes the milk to curdle quicker; less rennet makes the process slower. Diluted milk will not curdle firmly, and the failure of milk to make a smooth coagulum of the usual consistency and in the usual time, the temperature being right and the regular amount of a standard rennet being used, is a never-failing proof that something is the matter with the milk. It has been changed from its natural condition by over-heating in pasteurization or by watering or doctoring, or it has not been properly ripened. ”

“ Nutritive Ratio.—As we said before, the “nutritive ratio” of a food means the ratio of its flesh-forming constituents—proteins—to its heat-producing nutrients—carbohydrates and fats. Cow’s milk, containing 1413.25% protein, 4% fat and 5% milk-sugar, has a nutritive ratio of 1 : 4.3, i. e., 1 part of protein to 4.3 parts of heat-giving nutrients, counting the fat equal to 21⁄4 of carbohydrates (multiplying the 4% fat by 21⁄4 makes 9, added to the 5% of sugar, makes 14; 3.25 to 14 equals 1 to 4.3) . ”