FARM DAIRYING 401 



should be separated. If the cream is too rich, it is difficult to 

 handle it, and it may give trouble in the churning process. 

 On the other hand, if it is very thin, it may not churn easily, 

 and the large amount of skimmed milk gives greater opportunity 

 for the development of bacteria which may injure the quality 

 of the butter. Under ordinary conditions, cream testing 

 between 25 and 35 per cent of butter-fat will give the best 

 results. 

 Care of the cream (Guthrie). 1 



It is difficult to advise the farmer regarding the souring, or 

 ripening, of cream because of varying conditions. It is a ques- 

 tion whether or not the average farm butter-maker can afford 

 to use starter, which is a culture of lactic acid producing organ- 

 isms that should be used in creameries ; for, in the first place, 

 few farmers are trained to handle the propagation of these 

 bacteria properly, and, in the second place, the amount of 

 starter that he would use is so small that he could probably 

 obtain better results by spending his time in being more careful 

 in the care of the milk and the cream. 



Under ordinary conditions the cream should be cooled to 50 

 F., or to a still lower temperature, as soon as it is separated. 

 On the second day it should be ripened by raising the tempera- 

 ture to 70 or 80 F. and maintaining that temperature until a 

 mild acid flavor is developed. The cream may be held for 

 several days if the flavor remains good ; if it is likely to become 

 strong, it should be churned before reaching this stage. 



Sometimes a bitter flavor develops. In order to prevent it, 

 the cream should be ripened as quickly as possible after separa- 

 tion. In this case the ripening process might be conducted as 

 follows : Set the freshly separated cream at about 70 F. 

 When the next separation is made, put the warm cream into 

 the can with the first separation, which is partly soured, and 



i C, U. Reading Course Bui. No. 60. 

 2o 



