CREAM RIPENING 67 



is the result of the development of the lactic fermentation. 

 If other fermentations aid in the production of this im- 

 portant quality of butter, they must be looked upon as 

 secondary. In practice the degree or intensity of flavor 

 is easily controlled by governing the formation of lactic 

 acid. That is, the flavor develops gradually with the 

 increase in the acidity of the cream. Sweet cream butter 

 for example is almost entirely devoid of flavor, while 

 cream with an average richness possesses the maximum 

 amount of good flavor possible when the acidity has 

 reached .6%. 



Exhaustive experiments conducted by the author (See 

 Rept. Wis. Exp. Sta., 1905) show that the desirable butter 

 flavor develops in the milk serum (skimmilk) and is 

 absorbed from this by the butterfat. Such absorption, may 

 take place either during the ordinary course of cream 

 ripening, or during the process of churning as would be 

 the case when well ripened skimmilk (starter) is added 

 to sweet cream and the mixture churned immediately. 

 This explains why in creamery practice such good results 

 have been obtained by churning sweet cream immediately 

 after the addition of a large amount of well ripened 



starter. 



Churnability. Practical experience shows that sour 



cream is more easily churnable than sweet cream. This 

 is explained by the fact that the development of acid in 

 cream tends to diminish its viscosity. The concussion pro- 

 duced in churning causes the little microscopic fat glob- 

 ules to flow together and coalesce, ultimately forming the 

 small granules of butter visible in the churn. A high 

 viscosity impedes the movement of these globules. It is 



