[Milk and butter. From the Neolithic to the current nutritional aspects]. / Il latte e il burro. Dal Neolitico agli attuali aspetti nutrizionali.

The evolution in the history of nutrition knowledge towards dairy products, is strictly related to the socio-cultural development of humans. In fact, milk and butter have accompanied humans since ancient times, which traces of the consumption of such products are dated back about the earliest times after the last (glaciation) ice age, while the application for extra nutritional uses, such as cosmetics and ceremonial rites, are reported in the writings of the Old Testament. Even in Italy, before the Roman Empire, were known rudimentary techniques of production and storage of dairy products. But only with the advent of the Etruscans, and the Romans later, that the use of milk and dairy products reach a wide diffusion in several applications. Since the advent of Christ until today, milk and its derivatives have maintained a privileged place in the human diet, but it is only with the advent of modern medicine and new findings in lipidic chemistry that emerged multiple biological and nutritional properties, very important for human health. After a short summary of the ancient history of the milk and butter, the role of dairy products in cancer, in hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular disease are reported. Moreover, the current opinions on saturated fatty acids, the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their lipid mediators obtained by the action of cyclooxygenase, lipoxygenase and the cytochrome P450 enzymes, are treated. Even if sometimes mistreated, the milk, but most of all its high fat content derivatives such as butter, is a rich source of biologically active compounds that foster a controversial action against neolplastic and cardiovascular disease. These compounds, mainly contained in the lipid fraction, for the more obvious relationships that exist between nutrition and health status, have been the subject in the last decades of intense scientific investigation in which there were expressed lights and shadows, but recognizing that not all fats are harmful and further thorough studies are necessary, in particular, on the derived lipid mediators. This will allow a significant progress based on new scientific evidences, further orienting researchers and clinicians on evidence-based nutritional science.

Analysis as border patrol: chemists along the boundary between pure food and real adulteration.

A disputed butter competition in Pennsylvania in 1895 brought the cultural, environmental, and scientific character of the Era of Adulteration to the fore. The incident put a spotlight on the confusing character of adulteration and the increasingly prominent role of chemical analysts in arbitrating that confusion. This article uses the case to explore the role scientific analysts played on the border between pure food products and adulterated ones, arguing that the scientists fighting adulteration gained credibility within a cultural environment where trust and confidence were problematic and an agricultural environment where spatial connections between producers and consumers were difficult to see. They were not just detectors of chemical impurities, but participants in a vital cultural arbitration. Characterizing them for their cultural role helps demonstrate that their practices and identity were (and remain) relevant for more than just detection and eradication, then and in the future.

New series for agricultural prices in London, 1770­1914.

New annual series for the prices of major agricultural commodities sold in London markets between 1770 and 1914 are presented. These series are based on bimonthly observations drawn from newspaper market reports. The products covered are wheat, barley (grinding and malting), oats, potatoes, hay, butter, beef, mutton, and pork. Annual prices are calculated for both calendar and production years. The new series are compared to existing series.

The making of scientific butter: injecting scientific reasoning into agriculture.

Both Danish and English agriculture underwent fundamental restructuring during the second half of the 19th century, and in both cases the dairy sector made great advances. However, the two agricultural industries differed in aims and strategies, and crucially in the extent to which new technologies and scientific methods were implemented. Economic historical analysis is insufficient to explain why the Danish and English dairy industries developed in different ways, and how Danish butter achieved success in the competitive English market. However, with a focus on the role of science and a scientific understanding of the development of these two dairy industries, all becomes clear.