164 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



to be held in cold storage or consumed within a few days 

 after manufacture. The demand of the consumers is 

 related to the character of the butter flavor. Some 

 persons like the mild flavor of butter low in acidity. 

 Others characterize it as did Patrick 1 when he said, " The 

 sweet cream had lost its insipidity and possessed a flavor 

 approaching that of the ripened cream butter." Meyers 2 

 makes a rather blunt conclusion, saying that the common 

 preference for the flavor of ripened cream butter is a mere 

 whim and will be done away with as soon as the public 

 finds it can get better butter without. He concludes by 

 stating that it has been the fashion to use butter that has 

 begun sensibly to spoil rather than that from pure sweet 

 cream. It must be remembered that since Meyers made 

 these statements the use of starter has become a general 

 practice in creameries, and through it a much better flavor 

 may be imparted to the butter than when the cream is 

 allowed to ripen naturally. 



The history of the acidity of butter is an interesting 

 one. Butter was first made on a small scale. The milk 

 or cream was allowed to accumulate until there was 

 enough to churn. On standing, this milk or cream, usually 

 the latter, became sour. If the cream had been held at 

 low temperatures in order to keep it sweet, it might have 

 developed a bitter flavor as noted above. Also it was 

 learned by experience that the sour cream churned more 

 completely. In view of these facts, it is not surprising 

 that the public in general prefers butter that has a quick 

 acid flavor, for they have been trained to it. Since it has 

 been discovered that butter made from cream with a 



1 Patrick, G. E., Sweet Cream Butter, Agri. Exp. Sta. la. 

 State Col., Bui. 8, pp. 318-320, 1890. 



2 Meyers, John H., Abs. Hoard's Dairyman, Nov. 29, 1889. 



