CHAPTER XVI 

 CREAM-RIPENING AND STARTERS 



CREAM-RIPENING 



Definition. By cream-ripening we mean the treatment 

 cream receives from the time it is put into the ripening- vat until 

 it is put into the churn; and also the chemical, biological, and 

 physical changes it undergoes during this time. 



In the whole-milk creameries and in a few of the creameries 

 receiving only cream, the cream goes into the ripening vat in the 

 morning and no more is added during the day. In most cream- 

 eries, however, cream is taken in throughout the day. This 

 system does not permit of such perfect ripening of the cream; 

 besides, it necessitates opening and closing the vat at intervals. 

 Under this latter system it is important that the cream vat have a 

 fly screen over it, and that one end of it be covered with a cream 

 strainer through which all cream is strained before it enters the 

 vat. 



Objects of Ripening. To Produce Flavor and Aroma. 

 The chief object of cream-ripening is to secure the desirable 

 and delicate flavor and aroma which are so characteristic of good 

 butter. The necessary flavoring substances, so far as known, 

 can only be produced by a process of fermentation. Good butter 

 possesses two characteristic flavors. One is known as palate 

 flavor, or the distinctive butter flavor. The other is what is 

 described by butter judges as a nose flavor or aroma, sometimes 

 described as " bouquet " flavor. While the flavor and aroma 

 characteristic of good, properly ripened cream and the butter 

 made from it are produced by fermentation, the chemical changes 

 that produce them are not well understood. It is claimed by 

 some that the palate flavor is derived from the volatile fatty 



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