NEUFCHATEL AND CEEAM CHEESE. 5 



THE USE OF STARTERS. 



A " starter " is a quantity of niilk that has soured and which con- 

 tains large numbers of acid-forming bacteria. If the cheese is made 

 in small quantities for home consumption, a starter is probably not 

 advisable. The advantages of a starter over the natural souring are : 



1. It hastens the coaguhTtion of the milk. 



2. It suppresses undesirable fermentations that may cause excessive losses 

 of fat and curd. 



3. It aids in suppressing undesirable flavors and produces more uniform 

 cheese. 



A starter of Bacillus hulgm'icus may be used instead of the ordi- 

 nary lactic-acid starter, but it is recommended only when there is a 

 special demand for it. 



STANDARDIZING THE MILK. 



In making cream cheese for the market, milk testing about 6 per 

 cent butterfat is most satisfactory. With 4 per cent milk available, 

 if one-third of the quantity is run through a cream separator and the 

 cream added to the remaining two-thirds, milk testing approximately 

 6 per cent is obtained. If the milk tests only 3 per cent it will be 

 necessary to separate one-half of the quantity and add the cream to 

 the remaining half. This method gives satisfactory results for home 

 manufacture, but for more extensive operations it is advisable to use 

 a Babcock tester in order to standardize the milk accurately. 



The following diagram illustrates an easy method of determining 

 the proportions of milk and cream of different per cent of fat needed 

 to make up 6 per cent milk : 



Cream and milk on hand. 

 34 per cent cream. 



4 per cent milk. 



6 per cent 

 milk desired. 



Proportions to be used. 

 2 parts cream. 



28 parts milk. 



The desired per cent of fat in the milk, in this case 6, is placed in 

 the center of the square. At the upper left-hand corner the per 

 cent of fat in the available cream is placed, in this instance 34. 

 Immediately below, in the lower left-hand corner, the per cent of 

 fat in the available milk is placed, which in the instance cited is 4. 

 Next subtract diagonally across the square the smaller from the 

 larger numbers and place the differences in the upper and lower 

 right-hand corners respectively. In the upper right-hand corner 2 

 represents the number of parts of 34 per cent cream, and in the lower 

 right-hand corner 28 represents the number of parts of 4 per cent 

 milk necessary to make 6 per cent milk. If it is desired to make up 

 a definite quantity of 6 per cent milk, for example, 60 pounds, the pro- 



