152 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



dition of the cream, but in most cases from 10 to 20 per cent is a suitable 

 quantity. 



Natural Starter. The natural starter made from sour milk is perhaps 

 the best for farm conditions. To make it, set several samples of good, 

 clean skim or whole milk in small jars until the milk becomes sour. The 

 holding temperature should be about 70 F. When the samples have 

 become sour they should be examined. They should have formed a good, 

 smooth curd, free from gas bubbles. The flavor and taste should be clean 

 and sharply sour. The sample showing the best flavor and condition of 

 the curd should be selected for the starter. It may be built up in larger 

 quantities by adding the sample to about ten times its volume of clean, 

 sweet skim milk and allowing the mixture to stand at about 70 F. until 

 it has coagulated. The coagulated milk is then the starter to use in the 

 cream-ripening process. It contains a preponderance of the desirable 

 lactic bacteria which are necessary for that process. 



The Amount of Starter to Use. The amount of starter to add to 

 cream varies from 8 to 50 per cent. If the starter is a good one, the mere 

 added the better, but if too much be added it will dilute the cream too 

 greatly and make it hard to churn. About 10 per cent is a common 

 amount to use. 



Churning Temperatures. The temperature at which cream is churned 

 is very important. Properly ripened cream should be cooled down to the 

 temperature at which it is to be churned and held at that temperature 

 at least two hours to allow the fat to become cool and firm enough to churn. 



The churning temperature varies widely. It is affected by the season 

 of the year, kind of feed given the cows, condition of the cream and tem- 

 perature of the churning room. 



Variations in Churning Temperature. In the spring and summer, 

 when the cows are fresh and the feeds succulent and soft, the butter-fat 

 is naturally softer than later in the season. Under average conditions 

 temperatures ranging from 52 to 56 F. will give best results for these 

 seasons. This temperature should be increased to about 56 to 60 F. in 

 the winter. Much cream is now churned on the farms at above 60 F. 

 Experiments seem to indicate that the lower temperatures are to be pre- 

 ferred, as butter is much firmer when coming from the churn, does not so 

 easily incorporate buttermilk, and will stand more working, thus producing 

 a better body and a more uniform quality. Because of the cream being 

 poorly ripened or abnormal in some way, it is often necessary to use higher 

 temperatures than are here given. When difficulty in churning is expe- 

 rienced, the cream should never be raised in temperature by adding hot 

 water to the churn, but should be poured from the churn into a can and 

 gradually raised a few degrees in temperature by setting the can in a 

 pan of warm water. 



Care of the Churn. The proper care of cream in the ripening process, 

 although very essential ; does not insure good butter, Good cream can 



