264 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION. [BuUetiu 141 



To make a homemade starter, select the milk from one or more 

 cows which have been fresh within the last three months. After 

 securing the milk under as cleanly conditions as possible it is 

 placed in covered glass fruit jars or bottles. These receptacles 

 should have been previously cleaned and then sterilized by 

 placing them in water and bringing the water to a boil. The 

 milk is now placed at a temperature between 70° F. and 75° 

 F. until curdled. The sample which curdles with a smooth, 

 uniform, solid curd, free from air holes and undesirable 

 taints, but with a clean sour taste and smell, is selected for fur- 

 ther use. The amount of starter needed depends upon the 

 amount of cream, the ripening temperature and the condition of 

 the cream ; as a rule ten per cent, or one quart of starter for 

 every ten quarts of sweet cream is sufficient. It is therefore 

 necessary to introduce the pint of sour milk obtained as described 

 above into a quantity of boiled skim milk cooled to* 65° F. and 

 which is sufficient for the amount of cream on hand to be ripened. 

 When this second lot sours after being kept at a temperature of 

 about 70° F. it is introduced into the cream and the ripening 

 process is begun. The starter can thus be carried on from day 

 to day by saving a small part of the starter which is ready for 

 use and introducing it into a new lot of skim milk. A starter 

 should not be used before it curdles. If it curdles before needed 

 it should be immediately cooled below 55° F. In the handling 

 of starters as well as in cream ripening the butter-maker must 

 plan his work, use his judgment and experiment until he finds 

 the best time, place and temperature for setting his starter so 

 it will become ripe and ready for use at the proper time. 



The buttermilk from a previous churning may 1)e used with 

 good results as a starter as long as it has a clean sour taste and 

 is producing the desirable flavor in the butter. If the butter- 

 milk is not added to the cream when fresh it should be cooled 

 below 55° F. until needed. If at any time the buttermilk fails 

 to produce the desirable souring of the cream, its use should be 

 discontinued at once, as any fault the butter may have received 

 from improper ripening will be carried into the next lot through 

 the buttermilk. In such cases it is necessary to give all utensils 

 a thorough scalding and try to get the desiral)le bacteria in con- 

 trol either by using a home-made starter or by introducing into 



