458 MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS; DAIRY FARMS 



Propagation of Starter for Butter-making and Cheese-making 



(Guthrie) 



1. Take three one-quart milk bottles or fruit jars. 



2. Use fresh, clean milk (either whole milk or skimmed milk) which 

 must have a nice flavor. 



3. Fill the containers one-half to two-thirds full of milk. 



4. Protect the containers with regular covers (caps or tops). 



5. Pasteurize by heating to 180-200 F. for thirty minutes or longer, 

 and then cool to ripening temperature of 60-75 F. 



6. After pasteurization the milk is ready for inoculation. Inoculate 

 in a quiet place where the wind cannot blow dirt and bacteria into 

 this clean seed bed. 



7. Incubate at about 60-75 F. The first inoculation from the 

 commercial culture should be incubated at about 70- 85 F. 



8. The starter is ripe when a curd forms. This curd should be soft 

 and like custard in appearance. 



9. After the starter is ripe, hold it at 50 F. or a few degrees lower 

 until time to use. For best results a starter should not be held longer 

 than a few hours. 



10. Upon examination the curd should be smooth and compact, 

 without gas pockets. Gas shows the presence of undesirable bacteria. 



Farm Butter-making (Trueman, Conn. Exp. Sta.) 



The farmer will not ask, is it more scientific to make butter than to 

 sell milk, or is it less trouble, or does it take less time and work, but, 

 does it pay ? That question can best be answered by a comparison of 

 the amount received for 1000 pounds of milk by each method. 



One thousand pounds of milk equals 465 quarts. At 3| cents per 

 quart, its value is $16.27. The value of the same amount of milk made 

 into butter will depend upon the richness of the milk. If it will test 

 4 per cent of fat, then the 1000 pounds will contain 40 pounds of fat. 

 Under ordinary conditions this will make about 44.5 pounds of butter. 

 This at 35 cents per pound is worth $15.57. Add to this the value of 

 800 pounds of skim milk and 150 pounds of buttermilk, a total of 950 

 pounds at 25 cents per hundredweight, equal to $2.37, a total of $17.94 

 for the 1000 pounds of milk when made into butter. This gives a 

 balance of $1.67, in favor of making butter, to say nothing of the value 



