Rancidity in Indian Butter Fat (Ghee)

Abstract

CHANGES in analytical characteristics following upon the onset of rancidity in butters and butterfats have been widely studied1–6, with somewhat discrepant results. This is scarcely surprising in view of the number of variables involved, within the material itself and in the conditions of its spoilage. In the work here reported, the samples of ghee were prepared with some care and represent genuine products in good condition ; the specimens examined were not chosen at random but belonged to three definite types—one, from Kirkee, of high Reichert value (30–40) and low iodine value (c. 28) typical of well-kept dairy buffaloes, another of normal Reichert value (c. 25) and iodine value (c. 38) from dairy cows, and the third of low Reichert value (14–22) and high iodine value (33–40) derived from buffaloes fed mainly on cotton-seed. The samples had all been stored in similar conditions, namely, in glass bottles with fairly loose-fitting wooden corks placed in a laboratory cupboard for periods of three to four years at a temperature range of 15–25° C. The analytical characteristics of the samples were determined before and after storage, and the average changes in each group were as below.