318 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



out the addition of some sweet milk, or by the use of a neutralizer such 

 as bread soda. The addition of a good starter to ripe cream will improve 

 the quality of it by mixing the two together, but that the butter flavors 

 can be developed in the starter and imparted to the butterfat in the 

 cream directly, has yet to be proven. It is generally thought that the 

 process of lactic fermentation in the cream is necessary in order to bring 

 about the desired results 



Unsuccessful results by tne use of starters for cream ripening have 

 been reported in a great many instances. This can be traced to the im- 

 proper use of starters. If starters are good they will never bring about 

 poorer results than were obtained without the use of them. Owing to 

 the fact that it is difficult to keep the same starter in a good condition 

 very long many starters are used which develop the wrong fermentation 

 in the cream. A slightly acid, somewhat bitter taste, and a slimy, lumpy 

 condition of the starter are defects which are very common. These con- 

 ditions seem to be brought about chiefly by overripening it at a high 

 temperature and keeping it a long time at a low temperature before 

 using it. If ripened gradually at a comparatively low temperature and 

 not kept too long, a starter will usually keep in good condition a long 

 time. The Danes, who use starters more regularly than any other peo- 

 ple, do not generally cool their starters with ice. They are usually in- 

 oculated with abotit 5 per cent of the mother starter at a temperature 

 of about seventy degrees Fahrenheit, allowed to stand at this tempera- 

 ture for about three hours, then just previous to coagulation they are 

 put into cold water and allowed to cool gradually. This produces a 

 starter with smooth curd and a clean, mild, acid taste. It is kept in good 

 condition and carried on from day to day. sometimes a half a year or more. 

 Nearly always two kinds of starters are kept on hand at the same time, 

 so if one should happen to "go off," the second one could be used in- 



In this country, even if special precautions are taken, it seems al- 

 most impossible to carry on a starter for half a year without getting a 

 new culture. A starter which has been properly prepared, cooled gradu- 

 ally before coagulation, and not over-ripened, will contain a smooth, soft 

 curd, and retain its mild acid flavor even when carried on for a month. 

 Whenever the slimy ferment develops in the starter it can be noticed 

 in the cream and starter both, by not being able to develop acid as rap- 

 idly and to so great an extent. Whenever this particular ferment gains 

 entrance to the cream, it seems almost impossible to develop any more 

 than .5 of a per cent of acidity in 30 per cent cream, while if the proper 

 ferment were present .7 per cent could be developed. A decrease in 

 the quality of butter always accompanies a development of this ferment 

 in the cream. 



When the sliminess appears in the starter it is best not to use it. 

 Buttermilk can sometimes be used to an advantage until a new starter 

 can be prepared. The question whether w^hole milk or skim milk should 

 be used in the prepartion of starters has been argued pro and con, but 

 according to experimental evidence starters prepared from skim milk 

 seem to give better all around satisfaction. A mild, rich acid taste is 

 produced in a starter prepared from w^hole milk, while the starter pre- 



