SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK DEFECTS 231 



spoon full of milk sugar per one hundred pounds of condensed 

 milk. The milk sugar must be added as soon as the condensed 

 milk comes from the pan, if the milk is allowed to cool before 

 the milk sugar is added, its effectiviness is largely lost. 



In order to insure the full desired action of the added pow- 

 dered milk sugar, this powder must be transferred to the con- 

 densed milk in such a manner as to prevent its formation into 

 lumps. It must be evenly and finely distributed over and in the 

 condensed milk. The use of a flour sifter has been found most 

 suitable for this purpose. 



Thickened and Cheesy Sweetened Condensed Milk. 



General Description. The term "thickened and cheesy" con- 

 densed milk applies to condensed milk that has become thick 

 and in some cases solid. This is a very common trouble with 

 milk manufactured in late spring and early summer. The milk 

 thickens soon after its manufacture and continues thickening 

 until it assumes the consistency of soft cheese, without the de- 

 velopment of acid. In this condition it usually has a peculiar 

 stale and cheesy flavor, disagreeable to the palate. Such milk is 

 invariably rejected on the market. 



Causes and Prevention : Effect of Colostrum on Thickening. 

 It has been suggested that this spontaneous thickening is due 

 to the presence in the fresh milk of colostrum milk, because this 

 defect appears at a time when the majority of the cows supply- 

 ing the condensery freshen. This explanation can hardly be 

 considered correct and there is no experimental evidence avail- 

 able substantiating it. If the presence of colostrum milk were 

 the cause of it, the thickening would take place during the 

 process, as the result of the action of heat on the albuminoids. 

 This is not the case. This thickening begins some days and 

 often some weeks after manufacture and increases as the milk 

 grows older. 



Effect of Cow's Feed on Thickening. Again, the cause of 

 this defect has been attributed to the change in feed, the cows 

 being turned from dry to succulent feed at the time when this 

 tendency of the condensed milk to thicken occurs. There is 

 no reliable evidence, however, of how the succulent pasture 



