Some Factors Responsible for Variations in the Acid Numbers of the Fat in Cream and in Commercial Butter

In a previous article it was shown that the acid numbers of the fat of commercial butter varied rather widely.No close correlation existed between the acid number of the fat and the quality of commercial unsalted butter; butter of good quality often had relatively high acid numbers, while some rancid samples had relatively low acid numbers.In order to determine some of the possible causes for the significant fat acid numbers variations observed in commercial butter a number of experimental trials were made.