DAIRYING 51 



tests of the cream will show the progress of the ripening, and when 

 .4 to .5 per cent, acid has been reached the cream should be cooled 

 to near 50 F. and held at that temperature until it is churned. The 

 acidity at churning time should not exceed 0.6 per cent. 



483. The so-called "48 hour" or slow ripening of cream is 

 practiced and recommended by some buttermakers who produce 

 an extra quality of butter, even when milk is skimmed daily. The 

 body of the butter may be firmer, than that made from cream 

 ripened a shorter time at a higher temperature. The practice is a 

 safer one to follow with perfectly pure and clean milk than with 

 milk of uncertain sweetness from day to day. Milk from one or 

 a few large herds well cared for and in prime condition each day 

 will furnish cream which may be much more safely ripened for 

 48 hours than that supplied by a number of more or less careless 

 patrons. 



UNCERTAINTY OF RIPENING BY RULE 



484. The foregoing discussion of cream ripening is intended 

 to apply to the ordinary conditions at the present time where either 

 milk or cream or both are made into butter. The conditions of 

 this supply may vary from day to day according to the weather, 

 the season, and the extent to which the milk producers are dairy 

 farmers. Some butter is made from milk and cream from many 

 small farmers who keep a few cows as a side issue and do not 

 give the cows or the milk much attention. At other places the milk 

 and cream is produced by men who make a business of dairy 

 farming; they keep good-sized herds of dairy cows and provide 

 the necessary arrangements for taking excellent care of the milk 

 and cream. These differences in the supply have an important 

 bearing on the cream ripening and the butter quality. On account 

 of this variety in condition, it is impossible to give directions for 

 cream ripening that may be followed in the same routine way each 

 day and at all places. 



485. A definite knowledge of the reasons for ripening cream 

 and the influence which temperature, acidity, etc., have on the 



