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STARTERS 



Pigf. 38. Glass-enameled starter tank 

 Courtesy Elyria Enameled Products Co. 



The Proper Degree of Ripeness. At the time when the 

 starter milk begins to be sour to the taste, but has not reached 

 the coagulating point, it usually has a peculiarly disagreeable 

 odor and flavor. This is explained to be due to the activity of 

 other micro-organisms aside from the lactic acid species in- 

 oculated. Later, when the acid is more pronounced and the 

 milk is at the point of curdling, this disagreeable flavor and 

 aroma generally disappear, the lactic acid species of bacteria 

 having gained the ascendancy, holding the other species in check. 



If the starter were therefore used in the early stage of 

 acid development and before the battle of species for the survival 

 of the fittest had been decided in favor of the lactic acid 

 organisms, the starter would fail to lend to the cream and the 

 resulting butter the flavor for which it is used. It is important, 

 therefore, to permit the starter to develop until the maximum 

 number and activity of lactic acid bacteria are secured, which is 

 the case usually at the point when the milk commences to curdle. 



