24 DAIRYING 



high a heat, about 130 degrees Fahrenheit, will kill the lactic 

 acid germs in the starter, but cold does them no harm. 



10. Always pour out some of the starter into a cup for 

 examination, and never place a thermometer, pipette, or spoon 

 in the starter after it is made, although these must be used in 

 the early stages of the process. 



11. Every effort possible should be made to protect the 

 carefully soured milk from contamination after the pure cultures 

 have been added and a good growth of lactic acid germs is ob- 

 tained. 



JUDGING THE QUALITY OF BUTTER. 



557. The various qualities of butter are classified under the 

 following heads : Flavor, texture, color, salt and package. 



When an expert butter judge, or a butter buyer, gives his 

 opinion of butter it is generally expressed with figures. The 

 American commercial standards for perfect butter are the follow- 

 ing: Flavor 45, texture 25, color 15, salt 10, package 5; total 

 100 points. 



558. It is not customary to give any butter a score of 100 

 and thereby acknowledge it to be perfect in all its qualities. 

 Scores of 98 are, however, sometimes reached, although in ex- 

 hibits of butter entered for prizes there are not often more than 

 one or two entries out of one hundred with a score of over 97 

 points. Only about one-third of the total number will score 93 

 points or better. The proportion of the total number of entries 

 exhibited that score above 93 will vary in different exhibits and 

 in different seasons of the year. 



Butter that scores 93 or better is usually marked perfect on 

 at least two qualities and sometimes on three, but almost never 

 on flavor. (See par. 569.) Defective flavor is the most common 

 fault found in butter. Such qualities as texture, color, salt and 

 package are more under the control of the buttermaker than 

 is the flavor. 



