88 THE BOOK OF BUTTER 



butter-manufacturing firm in Omaha was the first, to 

 my knowledge, that used lime-water commercially in the 

 manufacture of butter." 



66. Methods of neutralizing. — Several neutraliz- 

 ing agents are used in decreasing the acid-content of 

 cream. The most important are sodium carbonate, so- 

 dium bicarbonate, salsoda, calcium carbonate, and lime- 

 water. Usually milk of lime is preferred to lime-water. 

 The sour cream, which may contain as high as .7 per cent 

 lactic acid, is first heated to about 90° F. At this tem- 

 perature the neutralizing agent can be readily mixed with 

 the cream. A sufficient amount of the neutralizer is 

 added to reduce the acidity to .2 or .25 per cent lactic 

 acid. After this the cream is pasteurized and a good 

 starter is added. Care must be exercised to prevent the 

 flavor of the neutralizer from being imparted to the butter. 

 Skill is necessary to determine the exact amount of acid 

 in the cream, and in calculating the correct quantity of 

 lime solution to add. It is not possible, with any degree 

 of accuracy, to add a certain quantity of lime and then 

 titrate the cream for acidity, because it requires more or 

 less time for the neutralization to take place. It is, 

 therefore, important that the creamery operator ascer- 

 tain the acidity with definiteness and that he have a 

 good knowledge of the character of the lime or other 

 neutralizer. 



67. Advisability of neutralizing cream. — So far as 

 known, there is nothing deleterious to health in the process 

 of adding lime or lime-water to a food product, such as 

 sour cream ; but the practice opens a field for discussion. 

 The principle of letting a product deteriorate so that it 

 must be remade is wrong. It is not conducive to perma- 

 nent dairying. In fact, it encourages carelessness. In 



