BUTTER 205 



In order to obtain the maximum effect and to give the or- 

 ganisms added in the starter a clear field, it is advisable 

 to pasteurize the cream and then add the starter. In ihe 

 pasteurizing process the acid-forming bacteria will be de- 

 stroyed, and the entire fermentation will be controlled by 

 the added bacteria. By the use of this method, the butter- 

 maker has entire control over the flavor of the product, 

 provided he is furnished with a good quality of raw mate- 

 rial, i. e., sweet, fresh, clean cream. 



The ripening of the cream also aids in the churning proc- 

 ess, causing the cream to churn more quickly, and diminish- 

 ing the loss of butter-fat in the milk. The ripening of the 

 cream also improves the keeping quality of the butter made 

 from raw cream. It is probable that if the butter is made 

 from pasteurized cream the sweet-cream butter has better 

 keeping qualities. The pasteurization also destroys any 

 pathogenic bacteria that may be present in the cream. ' 



The control of the ripening of the cream is desirable 

 from the standpoint of the rapidity with which the process 

 goes on. The flavor of the product will depend on the 

 degree of acidity developed in the cream, or, in other words, 

 on the relative amounts of flavoring substances and butter- 

 fat. If the cream is low in fat, the same amount of flavor- 

 ing substances will impart to the butter a higher degree of 

 flavor than if there had been twice as much fat in the 

 cream. It is, therefore, desirable, from the standpoint of 

 the control of the degree of flavor, to stop the development 

 of acid when it has reached the proper point. Also from 

 the standpoint of convenience it is desirable to have the 

 cream ripened at that rate which will make possible the 

 churning at about the same hour each day. This can be 

 accomplished by varying the amount of starter, and by the 

 control of the temperature at which the cream is kept. 



Starters are rarely used on the farm. It is certain that 



