FERMENTED MILKS 237 



If, in making artificial buttermilk, the skim milk be in- 

 oculated with cultures of both the common lactic-acid 

 producer and the Bulgarian type, good results will not be 

 obtained, because the two types of organisms have different 

 optimum temperatures for growth. The common lactic- 

 acid producer gives best results at about 70 F., while the 

 Bulgarian type should be grown at about 100 F. 



To get the best results, then, a batch of pasteurized 

 skim milk is inoculated with a lactic-acid culture, and the 

 milk ripened exactly as is done when making a starter in 

 a creamery. An equal quantity of pasteurized skim milk 

 is inoculated with the Bulgarian type of starter and incu- 

 bated at about blood heat from twenty-four to thirty hours. 

 It will then contain about two per cent acid (as much as 

 3 per cent acid will develop in 3 days). These two batches 

 of sour milk are then mixed by pouring them both into a 

 churn and churning the milk until the curd is all broken up 

 and a smooth product is secured. 



Buttermilk Tablets. There are several brands of butter- 

 milk tablets sold under various trade names. These are 

 useful in making imitation buttermilk on a small scale in 

 the home. One method of using these tablets is described 

 by the manufacturers as follows: 



" Take a quart of fresh, rich milk, put it in a clean jar 

 or other vessel of glass or earthenware, and add thereto 

 one-third of a quart of hot water. The amount of water 

 may be varied according to the richness of the milk, the 

 taste of the individual who is to be served, or the require- 

 ments of the patient if it is to be used in the sick-chamber. 

 The purpose in adding hot water is to raise the temperature 

 of the milk to body heat. A pinch of salt is now stirred 

 into the mixture together with one " Lactone " tablet 

 which has been previously powdered, the whole being well 

 mixed until the tablet is cHssolved. The jar is then covered 



