CREAM RIPENING 109 



It has already been stated in Chapter VI that 

 ripened-cream butter does not keep so well as butter 

 made from sweet cream. There is a question, there- 

 fore, whether the cream should be ripened at all when 

 butter is made for certain markets. For other markets 

 the acidity of the cream should be low. Many of the 

 European trades call for butter made from cream 

 with very little acid. The Jewish people are especially 

 urgent that their butter shall be made from perfectly 

 sweet cream. On the other hand, many consumers 

 prefer high acid butter. It is usually considered that the 

 addition of good starter improves the flavor of butter 

 that is made for quick consumption. 



STARTER 



A starter is a material containing desirable bacteria 

 for the ripening or souring of dairy products. These 

 bacteria may be purchased of companies whose advertise- 

 ments appear in the dairy journals. The growing of these 

 bacteria in whole milk or in skimmed-milk is known as 

 starter-making. 



79. History. It has been common knowledge among 

 dairy-men that milk or cream will sour quickly if held at 

 certain temperatures. It was also well known that 

 they will sour still more quickly if sour milk, sour cream, 

 buttermilk, or whey is put into them. Often the addition 

 of one of these sour products, which are known as natural 

 starters, greatly improves the flavor of the cream and of 

 the subsequent butter. 



The studies of investigators soon showed that certain 

 bacteria were responsible for the souring process and for 

 the desirable flavors. Storch, Wiegmann, Conn, Eckles, 

 Freudenrich, Tiemann, and Russell were among the first 



