BUTTER-MAKING ON THE PAK.M. 17 



The best natural starters are made by allowing the bacteria normally found in 

 the milk to sour or curdle it. They may be made by taking a small quantity of skim- 

 mi Ik or whole milk, produced under clean conditions from clean cows, while fresh and 

 n'\v, and allowing it to sour naturally in a well-sterilized glass jar at a temperature 

 of from 70 to 80 Fahr. If it sours normally, with a pleasant, clean, acid flavour, it 

 may then be added to the cream at the rate of about % to 1 pint for each gallon of 

 the cream to be ripened. 



Generally speaking, the most satisfactory method of ripening cream under 

 average farm conditions is to keep it as sweet as possible until about twenty-four 

 to thirty-six hours before churning-time, and then slowly bring the temperature up 

 to 65 to 70 Fahr. by standing the cream-can in a tub of warm water, and when 

 it has ripened sufficiently to produce an acid smell and a slight acid taste and shows 

 signs of thickening, it should be at once thoroughly and quickly cooled to churning 

 temperature and held until churning-tirne. It is always best to time the ripening 

 so that the cream may be cooled ready for churning about eight to twelve hours 

 before churning takes place. This is necessary to give the fat in the cream time to 

 become firm, or the result will be a soft, weak-textured butter. 



Should it become necessary to use a starter in order to hasten the ripening pro- 

 cess, as may happen during cold weather, one made from skim-milk or whole milk 

 as described above will in most cases prove very satisfactory. 



One of the most difficult things to determine is when the cream has the proper 

 ripeness to be churned, so that uniform results can be obtained and one cliurninir 

 be like another. A skilful, experienced butter-maker is able to judge very closely 

 the right condition of the cream for churning by its appearance. A properly ripened 

 cream should have a clean, sharp, pleasant, acid taste and smell, and should be of 

 the consistency of good molasses, and when poured be free from lumps and have a 

 smooth, glossy appearance. 



CHURNING TEMPERATURE. 



The proper temperature for churning cream can be determined only by the 

 length of time it takes to bring the butter in a firm, granular form. This should 

 be from twenty-five to forty minutes. There are a number of factors which influ- 

 ence the churning temperature of cream, chief of which are: (1) The percentage 

 of fat in the cream; (2) the period of lactation of the cows; (3) the feed of the 

 cows; (4) the amount of cream in the churn; and (5) the speed of the churn. 



RICHNESS OF THE CREAM. 



The closer the fat-globules are to each other, the more quickly they will unite, 

 with the same amount of concussion in churning. In a rich cream the fat-globules 

 are very close together, which render it more easily churnable than thin cream, and 

 can therefore be churned at a lower temperature in the same length of time. The 

 loiver temperature is favourable for a firm, ivaxy-grainc<l Inittcr. 



To get the best results, the percentage of fat in the cream should range from 

 25 to 30 per cent., or about 3 to 3^ lb. of butter to each gallon of cream churned. 



PERIOD OF LACTATION. 



The length of time the cows have been in milk influences the churning tempera- 

 ture, because of its effect upon the size of the fat-globules in the milk. In the 

 earlier part of the milking period cows produce milk containing larger fat-globules. 



FEED OF THE Cows. 



The effect of the feed of the cows is due to its effect upon the composition of 

 the fat-globules. Succulent feeds, like pasture grass, green corn, silage, roots, etc., 

 tend to increase the softness of the fat-globules, while dry feeds, such as hay, grains, 

 etc., cause a harder butter-fat. 



