"NEUTRALIZATION" OF CREAM FOR BUTTER-MAKING 189 



and lumpy. It may be that the solution used does not come in 

 contact with the acid encased in the lumpy cream or particles 

 of cream. 



To get the best results from neutralization, a large fore- 

 warmer should be used and the cream heated to 85 to 90 F., 

 and thoroughly mixed by keeping the coil moving before and 

 while adding the neutralizer. The neutralizer should be dis- 

 tributed as evenly as possible throughout the entire mass so 

 that it will come in contact as far as possible with all particles of 

 the cream. 



Butter made from high-acid cream, whether pasteurized or 

 unpasteurized, has a tendency to develop a pronounced fishy 

 flavor when placed in storage. It is difficult to pasteurize sour 

 cream if its acidity has not been reduced, as the heat causes the 

 cream to become stringy or ropy, due to the coagulation of the 

 casein. This is particularly true with thin cream. If the acidity 

 of cream is high and it is churned in this condition, without having 

 the acidity reduced, butter made from it will invariably be sour. 

 This will not impair its food value nor will it make the butter 

 injurious to health, but it will impair the flavor. Large classes 

 of people in America and the European countries spread their 

 bread with sour cream and regard it as a delicacy. The health- 

 fulness of buttermilk, koumiss, and other fermented milks is 

 well known. 



In investigations pursued in the laboratory of the American 

 Association of Creamery Butter Manufacturers on the heavy 

 losses of butter-fat in buttermilk, it was found that the fat- 

 globules that escape in the churning process and pass off in the 

 buttermilk are the small globules which are encased in the meshes 

 of the casein. The precipitation of the casein by heat in the 

 process of pasteurization, where the acidity of the cream has not 

 been reduced, causes extreme losses in the buttermilk. In some 

 instances as much as i or 2 per cent of fat is found in buttermilk 

 made from such cream. Hence, the reduction of the acidity 

 for pasteurization is a necessity from an economic standpoint, 

 if for no other reason. 



Sour cream is a farm problem. Every creameryman would be 



