STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 565 



After separation, the cream is cooled at once. This is done by setting 

 the can containing the warm cream in cold water for a short time. After 

 being cooled somewhat, the cream is removed to the refrigerator. Warm 

 cream is never mixed with cold cream, as an important thing to be re- 

 membered is to have as few changes as possible in the temperature of the 

 cream after it is once cooled. It has been found that butter made from 

 cream which has had the minimum changes in temperature will "stand 

 up" better in warm weather than butter made from cream whose tempera- 

 ture has suffered several changes. Having cooled the cream, it is kept in 

 cans in the cooler until enough is collected for a churning. 



Now comes the ripening process proper. If the cream has liept per- 

 fectly sweet (and it should for at least three or four days even in summer 

 if proper care has been taken in the way of cleanliness), it is warmed up 

 to the desired temperature and set to ripen in a ripening vat. What this 

 desired temperature is is open to difCerences of opinion. I consider be- 

 tween 60 to 65 degrees Fahr. to be about right for the summer season. 

 1 have found that cream ripened at this temperature made butter of a 

 better flavor than cream ripened at 80 degrees. It is asserted by some 

 writers that there are other bacteria besides the lactic acid forming ones, 

 which aid in determining the flavor of butter, and that these bacteria 

 flourish best at a comparatively low temperature. The time required 

 to ripen cream at this low temperature is from nine to ten hours. After 

 the cream has ripened sufficiently it is removed from the ripener and 

 placed in cold water to cool for churning. I prefer to set the cream to 

 ripen in the evening, allow it to ripen during the night, draw off in the 

 morning, cool for at least two hours and then churn. If one desires to 

 churn early in the morning the cream may be set to ripen the previous 

 morning, removed in the evening and kept in cool water all night, but in 

 this case the cream must be removed from the vat before it is fully ripe, 

 or else it will. become overripe during the night. 



The ripeness for drawing off is usually determined by the taste and 

 odor of the cream. This, however, is not an accurate test, and I prefer 

 using the Farrington test. If no alkali test is used, a very slight deposit 

 of casein on the bottom of the vat will indicate a proper degree of sour- 

 ness. If the alkali test is used an acidity of .7 per cent, is about right 

 if the cream is to be churned as soon as cooled; if it is to stand over night 

 an acidity of .5% to .6 per cent, is about right. 



As to whether ripening at a low temperature has any effect upon the 

 churning qualities of the cream, I will say that so far as my observations 

 and records go, ripening at a low temperature seems to have an advantage 

 over ripening at a high temperature. In a series of thirty churniugs, 

 flfteen ripened at a high temperature required an average of 53 minutes 

 for forming butter granules, while fifteen ripened at a low temperature 

 required 47 minutes. The greatest advantage seems to come from the 



