CHAPTER V 



Cream Ripening 



THE ripening of cream is the treatment given it 

 to prepare it for churning. Upon this, together 

 with the previous care of the milk, depends the 

 quality of the butter. Ripening depends on the 

 character and the number of bacteria, the tempera- 

 ture and the length of time which the cream is 

 held. 



Object. The purpose of ripening the cream 

 rather than churning immediately is to produce the 

 desired flavor, which is the result of bacterial 

 growth and accompanying changes, to increase the 

 churnability and to increase the keeping quality of 

 the butter. 



Flavor. While it has not been conclusively 

 shown that any one species of bacteria will produce 

 the desired flavor, it is essential to have the lactic 

 acid forms predominating. Some of the pure cul- 

 tures on the market include two or more species of 

 bacteria, while others have only one. Under 

 cleanly farm conditions the lactic acid forms pre- 

 dominate. 



Churnability. The formation of lactic acid dur- 

 ing the ripening process lessens the viscosity of the 

 cream, i. e., the tenacity with which the particles 

 hold together, as molasses is viscous ; at the same 

 time the cream becomes thicker yet less viscous, 



