262 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION. [Bulletin 141 



cans in the sitting room which on the day of the visit had a 

 temperature of 88° F. The cream as a result of being exposed 

 to this high temperature for such a long time was exceedingly- 

 sour. The acid in the cream had precipitated the casein and 

 large lumps of curd were found throughout the cream, especially 

 at the bottom of the can. The cream had developed a very 

 strong and cheesy flavor which was carried into the butter. 



CREAM RIPENING. 



Starters in Cream Ripening. — Although cream ripening re- 

 fers to all the changes which take place in the cream when it is 

 left in a temperature suitable for bacterial growth, the term 

 ripening is used especially with reference to the souring of the 

 cream. During the production and handling of the milk and 

 cream as previously discussed under "Cleanliness and Storing 

 of Cream," it has been desirable not only to prevent bacteria 

 from getting into the milk and cream but also to prevent their 

 growth. When it is desired to begin the ripening process the 

 bacteria in the cream must be given a chance to grow and 

 multiply. The object of this bacterial growth is to produce the 

 aroma and flavor in the butter, increase the churnability of the 

 cream and to improve the keeping quality of the butter. 



Since the flavor of the butter is dependent upon the ripening 

 of the cream, it can easily be understood that the ripening of 

 cream is one of the very important parts of farm butter-making. 

 The best cream may be entirely spoiled by improper or careless 

 ripening. It must not be understood, however, that carelessness 

 during milking or in the handling of the cream previous to ripen- 

 ing, introducing great numbers of undesirable bacteria, can be 

 overcome by proper ripening. 



Cream ripening is not only important from the standpoint of 

 the quality of the butter, but it is one of the most difficult parts 

 of butter-making to carry out properly and successfully under 

 farm conditions, due principally to a lack of facilities, especially 

 lack of proper equipment and arrangement for the control of 

 temperature. The success or failure in cream ripening depends 

 principally upon two factors, firstly the number of the different 

 kinds of bacteria in the cream and secondly the ripening tem- 

 perature. 



