No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 579 



(d.) The sivim-milk produced by separator creaming is sweeter 

 and more free from bacteria and dirt than that produced by gravity 

 creaming. Separator skim-milk is, therefore, better for feeding pur- 

 poses. 



20. Artificial Thickening of Pasteurized Cream. 



Wheo cream is prepared to sell for immediate consumption as 

 cream, its keeping power can be very greatly increased by pasteur- 

 izing at 140 degree F., without affecting its taste. However, some 

 of the physical properties of the cream are so changed by pasteur- 

 izing that it appears thinner after pasteurization, though containing 

 the same amount of fat. Pasteurized cream, therefore, gives the im- 

 pression of being poorer in fat, and is much more difficult to make 

 whipped cream from. Babcock and Kussell have devised a simple, 

 etl'ective and absolutely harmless method of restoring the proper 

 consistency or body, to pasteurized cream. This consists in the 

 addition of a small amount of "viscogen," which is an entirely harm- 

 less compound made from lime-water and ordinary granulated sugar. 

 Viscogen is prepared as follows: Take two and one-half parts, by 

 weight, of granulated sugar and dissolve in five parts of water. To 

 this add some lime-water prepared thus: To one part of quick-lime 

 add three parts of water, stir thoroughly until the lime is completely 

 slaked, strain and this liquid, which is simply lime-water, is added 

 to the solution of cane sugar. The mixture of lime-water atid cane 

 sugar is shaken or stirred at intervals for two or three hours, after 

 which it is allowed to stand until settled. Then the cleared liquid 

 is poured off and stored in tightly-stoppered bottles ready for use. 

 Of this liquid, thus prepared, add one ounce to three gallons of cream 

 and stir thoroughly. Sometimes a little more is needed. As many 

 States have stringent laws against the ftddition of any kind of foreign 

 substance to milk or cream, cream to which viscogen has been added 

 should not be sold as simple cream, but as a special preparation of 

 cream. Moreover, customers should be given the choice of buying 

 cream with or without viscogen, as some people have a prejudice 

 against additions of any kind to their dairy food products. How- 

 ever, the use of viscogen is just as harmless to health as the use of 

 so much common salt. 



21. Profits Derived from Selling Cream. 



There is no form under which milk can be sold at so great a net 



profit as in the form of cream. The labor involved and the cost 



of preparation are much less than in the case of making butter or 



cheese. The skim-milk may all be kept on the farm, while in the 



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