CREAM. 5J09 



it is this layer which is known under the name of cream. 

 In this state the particles of butter have but a feeble cohe- 

 sion, and still retain in combination a portion of milk which 

 is by churning completely separated from them, when they 

 appear with all their characteristic qualities. 



As the preparation of these two products of the same fluid 

 present different phenomena, I think it best to treat of them 

 under different heads. 



ARTICLE I. 

 Of Cream. 



The surface of milk which is allowed to remain undis- 

 turbed in a cool place, becomes covered with a thick, unc- 

 tuous substance of an agreeable taste, and usually of a 

 yellowish white color ; this substance is called cream. The 

 first layer which is formed is not very close, but as the but- 

 ter ascends, the coat increases in density ; when it can, by 

 pressing it with the finger, be removed without disturbing 

 the milk, it is time for it to be skimmed off. Twenty-four 

 hours, with a degree of temperature equal to 59° of Fahren- 

 heit's thermometer, is sufiicient for raising the cream : but 

 at a higher temperature the cream forms more quickly, and 

 has less consistency ; it may then be removed in twelve 

 hours. Cream is much better either to be used in that state, 

 or for churning, than when it is allowed to remain a longer 

 time upon the milk. 



Cream should be kept in a cool place, and in jars with 

 narrow openings closely covered, so as to exclude the air, and 

 to keep it from being affected by the variations of tempera- 

 ture in the atmosphere. 



From experiments recently made, we ascertain, that the 

 larger the surface presented to the air by milk is, the more 

 rapidly is the cream separated, and that a degree of heat 

 equal to from 50° to 55° Fahrenheit, is the most favorable 

 to this separation. 



As the abundance and the quality of cream depend almost 

 entirely upon that of the butter, which constitutes nearly the 

 whole of it, I shall refer to the following article the remain- 

 der of what I have to say upon this subject. 

 18* 



