Babcock test

Babcock test

The Babcock test is the first inexpensive and practical test factories could use to determine the fat content of milk.

Motivation

Until the 1890s, dishonest farmers could water down their milk or remove some cream before selling it to the factories because milk was paid for by volume. Honest farmers, as well as those that produced naturally rich milk, were not being compensated fairly.

Babcock Test process

Stephen Moulton Babcock researched the problem at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and developed the following process:
# Measure milk into graduated test tube. You usually take 18 grams of milk or 17.6 milliliters.
# Add 17.6 milliliters of 90-92% sulfuric acid.
# Centrifuge at 50°C.
# Measure fat which will be floating on top of liquid in the test tube.

Principle of Babcock test

Key to this process is that everything in milk except the fat dissolves in sulfuric acid.The fat floats to the top. The centrifuge ensures complete separation with no bubbles in the fat, and the fat content can be measured using the graduations on the test tube and knowing the initial amount of milk used.

Utility of Babcock test

After the development of the test, it was much easier for a dairy operation to not only compensate farmers fairly, but to produce a consistent product that consumers could depend on. The Babcock test was also utilized by farmers to selectively breed for cows who produced milk with higher butterfat content—the tests were usually done monthly by an employee of the local Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA).

In 1911, the American Dairy Science Association's Committee on Official Methods of Testing Milk and Cream for Butterfat, chaired by O. F. Hunziker, met in Washington DC with the U.S. Bureau of Dairying, the U.S. Bureau of Standards and manufacturers of glassware. Standard specifications for Babcock glassware were published as a result of this meeting. [cite journal | last=Herreid | first=Ernest O. | title = The Babcock Test; A Review of the Literature | journal = Journal of Dairy Science | volume = 25 | issue = 4 | pages = 342-343 | publisher = American Dairy Science Association | url =http://jds.fass.org/cgi/reprint/25/4/335.pdf | accessdate = 2008-06-19]

About Babcock

Professor Babcock did not patent his invention considering himself an agent of Wisconsin working for the welfare of Wisconsin.

ee also

*Stephen Moulton Babcock
*Hydrometer - Device for measuring milk's relative density
*Fat content of milk
*Niklaus Gerber
*Gerber Method

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Babcock test — Bab·cock test bab .käk n a test for determining the fat content of milk and milk products Babcock Stephen Moulton (1843 1931) American agricultural chemist. During his career Babcock provided agriculture with a number of inventions and procedures …   Medical dictionary

  • babcock test — ˈbabˌkäk noun Usage: usually capitalized B Etymology: after Stephen M. Babcock died 1931 American agricultural chemist : a test for determining the butter value of milk and milk products by treating with acid and whirling by means of a… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Babcock test — /ˈbæbkɒk tɛst/ (say babkok test) noun a test to determine the fat content of milk, used, especially formerly, to standardise milk production; the first of its kind used in commercial dairies. {developed by US agricultural chemist Stephen Moulton… …  

  • Babcock test — /bab kok / a test for determining the butterfat content of milk and milk products, conducted by adding sulfuric acid to a sample and then centrifuging it in a flask with a calibrated neck in which the liquefied fat collects. [named after Stephen… …   Universalium

  • Babcock — is a surname that can refer to:People* Alpheus Babcock (1785–1842) American piano and musical instrument maker * Barbara Babcock (b. 1937) American actress * Courtney Babcock (b. 1972) Canadian runner * Edward V. Babcock (1864–1948) former mayor… …   Wikipedia

  • Babcock , Stephen Moulton — (1843–1931) American agricultural chemist A farmer s son from New York State, Babcock gained his AB degree from Tufts College, Massachusetts, in 1866 and after a period of farming became a chemistry assistant and (from 1875) instructor at Cornell …   Scientists

  • Babcock, Stephen Moulton — ▪ American chemist born Oct. 22, 1843, near Bridgewater, N.Y., U.S. died July 2, 1931, Madison, Wis.  agricultural research chemist, often called the father of scientific dairying chiefly because of his development of the Babcock test, a simple… …   Universalium

  • Babcock tester — /bæbkɒk ˈtɛstə/ (say babkok testuh) noun the device used to administer a Babcock test, in which sulphuric acid was added to a milk sample in a calibrated test bottle so that the amount of fat released by the milk could be quickly assessed …  

  • Stephen Moulton Babcock — Infobox Scientist name = Stephen Moulton Babcock box width = image size =150px caption = Stephen Moulton Babcock birth date = 22 October, 1843 birth place = Oneida County, New York death date = 2 July, 1931 death place = residence = citizenship …   Wikipedia

  • Stephen Babcock — Stephen Moulton Babcock (* 22. Oktober 1843 bei Bridgewater, Oneida County, New York; † 2. Juli 1931 in Madison, Wisconsin) war ein US amerikanischer Agrikulturchemiker. Babcock studierte am Tufts College, dem Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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