BACTERIA IN BUTTER-MAKING. IQI 



THE GENERAL VALUE OF STARTERS. 



The fact that starters, with or without pasteurization, have 

 become almost universally used among the better class of cream- 

 eries is in itself sufficient proof that they are of practical value. 

 Their advantage lies in four directions: i. They enable the butter- 

 maker to handle his cream more easily and uniformly. He can 

 regulate the ripening in such a way that his cream will always be of 

 a certain grade of ripeness at a certain time of day; for a little 

 experience tells him how much of his culture, under proper condi- 

 tions, should be added to the cream to produce the proper grade of 

 ripening at the particular time when he desires to churn. 2. The 

 use of starters has produced a greater uniformity in the grade of 

 butter. The butter-maker can depend more certainly upon pro- 

 ducing butter of a high grade, month after month, than he can with- 

 out starters. There is a general belief also among those who have 

 tested the butter in countries where starters are widely used, that 

 there is an improvement in the average quality of the butter, as well 

 as in its uniformity. 3. It has become pretty definitely agreed that 

 the flavor of butter is improved by the use of such cultures. It is 

 somewhat difficult to obtain definite proof of this, owing to the un- 

 certainty of scores in butter tests. But the fact that all good dairies 

 now use them is sufficient testimony to their value in improving the 

 general quality of the butter. 4. They are the best means of 

 remedying butter "faults." Every creamery has experiences of 

 deterioration in the flavor of the butter without any visible cause. 

 Such troubles are known to be due cornmonly to the growth of 

 unusual and undesirable bacteria in the cream. When they are 

 discovered, the sterilizing of the dairy utensils and the use of a large 

 quantity of a vigorous starter will generally remedy the trouble at 

 once. Moreover, the constant use of a starter goes a long way 

 toward preventing these "faults." 



It is doubtful whether the use of starters produces butter of a 

 character superior to the best butter made without them. Indeed, 

 some think that it is not quite equal to the best butter made without 

 starters. But the uniformly high grade of culture butter is admitted, 



