230 CREAM RIPENING 



revolving churn. They strike each other and the sides of the 

 churn oftener and with greater force. Their equilibrium is dis- 

 turbed more readily and the formation of butter granules is 

 facilitated, shortening the time required for churning, churn- 

 ing out more completely, and avoiding excessive loss of fat in 

 the buttermilk. 



The excessive loss of fat incurred by churning sweet 

 cream may be avoided by lowering the churning temperature. 

 The lower temperature retards the churning and gives the 

 smaller fat globules which are slow in uniting, a better oppor- 

 tunity to churn out before the churn is stopped. 



Effect of Cream Ripening on the Keeping Quality of 

 Butter. The relation of ripening of cream to the keeping quality 

 of butter has not been clearly understood for many years and 

 even to this day the general impression prevails that cream 

 ripening improves the keeping quality of the butter. Thus 

 McKay and Larsen, 1 Meyer, 2 and Michels 3 emphasize the im- 

 provement of the keeping quality of butter^as one of the objects 

 of cream ripening. 



There are no experimental data on record that : show that the 

 ripening of cream ever improved the keeping quality of butter, 

 but there is plenty of evidence, both experimental and commer- 

 cial, that the ripening of cream is a distinct detriment to the 

 keeping quality of butter. 



The "theory" that cream ripening improves the keeping 

 quality of butter originated with the advent of the use of pure 

 culture starters. Lactic acid bacteria which produced the de- 

 sired flavor and did not noticeably decompose the protein of 

 cream, were thought to be favorable to keeping quality. Their 

 predominance in ripened cream, retarding or inhibiting the de- 

 velopment of micro-organisms of the liquefying and putrefac- 

 tive species, was considered a partial protection against undesir- 

 able changes and fermentations which give rise to objection- 

 able flavors, and the lactic acid thus produced in itself was 

 thought to have a sufficient antiseptic effect to control, if not 

 inhibit, the growth of the bacteria known to produce objec- 

 tionable flavors and odors. 



1 McKay and Larsen, Principles and Practices of Buttermaking, 1915, p. 192. 



2 Martin H. Meyer, Modern Buttermaking, 1910, p. 74. 

 * John Michels, Creamery Buttermaking, 1914, p. 46, 



