76 CREAMERY BUTTER MAKING 



use of the improved cream ripeners and ice water attach- 

 ments will result in a great improvement in both the 

 quality and uniformity of butter and do away with the 

 dangerous practice of adding ice directly to the cream. 



DANGER OF ADDING ICE TO CREAM. 



Adding ice to the cream is a pernicious practice, both 

 because of its tendency to lower the quality of the butter 

 and of the danger of infecting it with disease producing 

 germs. This is so because most of the ice used is more 

 or less contaminated with filth and various kinds of 

 germs. Moreover, a good bodied cream cannot be 

 obtained where it becomes excessively diluted with ice 

 water. 



Butter makers generally realize these facts but are often 

 forced into the practice of adding ice to the cream because 

 proper cooling facilities are not available. One of 

 the contestants in the Michigan Butter Scoring Test 

 writes as follows : ''The ice we have been using comes 

 from a mill pond, a very filthy hole. I did not use it 

 in the cream until July when 1 was obliged to in order 

 to get the cream cold enough. I am satisfied that is one 

 reason my butter has such a poor flavor." Compare his 

 scores for May and June when no ice was used in the 

 cream, wdth those for July and August when ice was 

 added. Score for May, 92^4 ; score for June, 94 ; score 

 for July, 87 ; score for August, 88. 



WHEN BUTTERMILK MAY BE USED AS A STARTER. 



Creameries using two ripeners and finding it difficult 

 to get enough starter, will find it advantageous to ripen 

 the best cream with a good starter and to use the butter- 



