BUTTER-MAKING 245 



In practice the butter-makers use from a few per cent to 50 per 

 cent of starter. Less than 2 per cent has very little effect unless 

 the cream is sweet or pasteurized. More than 25 per cent in- 

 volves the handling of so much material that it is impractical 

 in a large creamery. From 10 to 20 per cent are good amounts 

 for ordinary purposes. 



" Adding a large quantity of starter to bad cream and churn- 

 ing immediately improves the flavor of the butter. Washing 

 bad butter in the granular form with a starter also improves 

 it. This method has a great deal of promise. Starters are used 

 in the manufacture of process butter and oleomargarine. 



"The commercial starters are likely to give better results in 

 the hands of an unskilled maker. The right kind of bacteria 

 have been selected for him and the rest of the work is more 

 mechanical. A good maker can select a natural starter that is 

 just as good as the best commercial starter. Circumstances 

 sometimes make this difficult or impossible, so that commercial 

 starter has the advantage of uniformity and reliability. How- 

 ever, some commercial starters sometimes fail in quality. Any 

 starter is likely to get bad at any time. Success with all starters 

 depends very much upon the skill and judgment of the maker. 



"Buttermilk or cream are sometimes used as starters. They 

 hasten the ripening but they cannot make the product any better 

 than the original cream. They may act as a catch-all for all the 

 taints that come in the cream, and a trouble occurring in one 

 day's cream is likely to be carried from day to day. There is 

 no chance of improvement above the general average. 



"The advantages and disadvantages of using starters in 

 butter-making were under discussion for a long time. To-day 

 practically all butter-makers appreciate their value and almost 

 all the large creameries use them. It is an open question 

 whether it would pay to use a starter in making butter on a small 

 farm. In such a case, the value of the time it takes to prepare a 

 starter is too great in proportion to the total value of the butter." 



