48 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



temperature it may develop a bitter flavor, and if kept at a much 

 higher temperature it becomes stale. The fresh cream must 

 never be added to the older cream until it has been cooled to 



49 degrees Fahrenheit. 



Just before ripening, the cream is all thoroughly mixed, 

 so it will be uniform. The cream thus mixed always tests less 

 than .2 of one per cent acid. After the cream is thus mixed a 

 io per cent starter is added to the cream which is then placed 

 where it will warm up to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. It is 

 held at this temperature for about eight hours after which it is 

 allowed to cool off to about 62 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire, 

 time required for ripening is twenty- four hours. This cream is 

 ripened to about .6 of one per cent acid. This is the method used 

 in winter. In the summer less starter is used and a little higher 

 temperature, 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 It is held from about six to eight hours at this temperature, 

 after which it is placed in the spring and cooled to 50 degrees 

 Fahrenheit. The time for ripening in summer is about twelve 

 hours. 



It matters very little whether the cream is ripened at 65 de- 

 grees Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Fahrenheit as long as it is not 

 allowed to develop too much acid. My reason for using a higher 

 temperature and less starter and less time to ripen the cream in 

 summer is that cream must be churned at a much lower tem- 

 perature in summer than in winter, and ripened cream cools off 

 very slowly. By having a little higher temperature, the cream has 

 developed sufficient acidity so that it can be placed in the spring in 

 the evening and will be thoroughly cooled to 50 degrees Fahren- 

 heit by morning. During the time that the cream is ripening, 

 it must be thoroughly stirred several times so that it will develop 

 a uniform degree of acidity. If the ripening is not uniform the 

 churning will not be exhaustive. In winter the churning tem- 

 perature must be higher, and by not allowing the temperature 

 to get so high it can be kept from acquiring too much acid until 

 the next morning and the temperature will then be about right 

 for churning. 



