RIPENING AND CHURNING CREAM. 183 



butter will be affected by it, as it was churned 

 at the temperature of the milk at separating, 

 which is usually high enough to kill the flavor 

 of the butter. 



Temperature to ripen.— When the cream is 

 in the desired condition it should be tempered, 

 the temperature of setting depending upon 

 when we wish to churn. If it is to be churned 

 the following day it should be warmed up to 

 68 to 70 deg. This operation requires care. It 

 must be done gradually and not have the water 

 surrounding the cream reach a temperature 

 that will cause the cream to melt if allowed to 

 stand without agitation while being warmed. 

 Agitation expedites the work and prevents the 

 cream that is in contact with the vat from be- 

 coming overheated. I have known serious 

 trouble with the flavor and grain of butter 

 from careless work here. 



Use a starter. — To hasten or help in ripen- 

 ing a starter may be used. Some use butter- 

 milk for this purpose but it is not safe, as it 

 carries from one day to the next, and if the 

 flavor is once lost or gets bad the trouble 

 is transmitted from day to day and so will 

 go from bad to worse. Some use sour cream 

 from the day's churning. There is the same 

 objection to this as to the buttermilk. The 

 best way is to make a starter from skim-milk, 

 selecting the milk from a dairy of fresh cows 



