STARTERS 255 



(usually two to three) before the culture is transferred to the 

 regular starter milk. This is called the startoline or mother 

 starter. 



In order to keep the starter in uniformly active and pure 

 condition it is necessary to propagate several jars (4 to 6) of 

 mother starter continuously from day to day, as the conditions 

 which are essential to preserve the starter can be more readily 

 controlled in the case of the mother starter in small jars than 

 in the ''big" starter in the vat or starter can. 



In the successful propagation of startoline. cleanliness in 

 all operations, good quality of properly pasteurized milk or 

 skim milk, protection from contamination after inoculation, and 

 proper control of temperature are of the greatest importance. 



Use the best milk or skim milk available; be sure that it 

 has been thoroughly heated to at least 180 degrees F. or higher 

 and held at that temperature at least thirty minutes. Use only 

 jars and other apparatus such as thermometers, spoons, dip- 

 pers, etc. that are perfectly clean and as nearly sterile as is 

 possible to make and keep them under reasonably sanitary 

 factory conditions. Do not touch with the fingers the commer- 

 cial culture nor the startoline but transfer it direct from the 

 original bottle into the jar containing the pasteurized and cooled 

 milk. Keep the startoline jars closed, so as to guard against 

 contamination from the dust in the air. Maintain a uniform 

 temperature of about 65 to 75 degrees F. according to season 

 of year. During the hot season use the lower and during the 

 cold season the higher temperature. 



Good mother starter demands systematic work and scrupu- 

 lous attention to details and in order to make this possible and 

 to economize time, some suitable equipment should be pro- 

 vided which is available and used for this purpose only. The 

 following simple and inexpensive equipment has been found 

 most serviceable for the preparation of mother starter: 



Equipment for Preparation of Mother Starter. 



1. One galvanized iron box for sterilizing quart jars, dip- 

 pers, thermometers, spoons, etc., size preferably 13 inches long, 

 8J inches wide, 8J inches deep. 



