CHAPTER XIV. 
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 cream undergoes during the same time. 
Oxssects oF RIPENING. 
(x) 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. These 
flavoring substances, so far as known, can only be produced by a 
process of fermentation. It is a well known fact that the best 
flavor in butter is obtained when the cream assumes a clean, 
pure, acid taste during the ripening. For this reason, it is 
essential to have the acid-producing germs predominate during 
the cream-ripening; all other germs should if possible be 
excluded or suppressed. 
It has not yet been proved that any one particular species 
of bacteria is responsible for the production of the flavors, but it 
is agreed by all that the flavoring substances developed during 
the ripening of cream are decomposition products of bacterial 
growth, and that the types producing the lactic acid are the 
most desirable ones to have present. There are a great many 
bacteria in milk and cream which will produce acid. Over one 
hundred species have been studied and described. There seems, 
however, to be a comparatively few of those which produce 
the best results. 
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