THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 269 



flavor, it is necessary to introduce the desirable bacteria before 

 the undesirable get a hold. In commercial butter a "starter" con- 

 taining the desirable bacteria, is put into the cream. In farm 

 butter-making a little buttermilk, kept for the purpose, can be 

 used as a ''starter" but it is best to have clean cream from clean 

 milk kept at the proper temperature for ripening. Cream should 

 not be kept long before churning that a large quantity may be 

 accumulated. Much better butter can be made if the cream is 

 not allowed to age too long and acquire undesirable qualities. 

 Butter made from old cream has a musty or moldy odor. 



Cream should be kept cool up to the time of the introduction 

 of the ''starter" or when the ripening process should begin. As 

 the ripening begins the temperature should be between 65 and 

 70 degrees to give the best conditions for a rapid growth of de- 

 sirable bacteria. As soon as the cream acquires a mild sour taste 

 and a granular condition the temperature should be lowered to 

 prevent the fermentation being carried further. The cream is 

 then ready for churning. 



Churning is simply a process of beating together the fat 

 globules into grainy masses. One of the best churns is the com- 

 mon wooden or earthen barrel churn. Dashers or any other 

 sort of agitation or beating arrangement need not be used to 

 get the best results. The cream should not occupy over one-half 

 of the churn capacity. There needs to be ample room for the 

 cream to be thrown from one end of the churn to the other as it 

 is turned over and over. 



The churning should be done at as low temperature as is 

 reasonable. If it is done at a high temperature, the fat globules 

 run together more like oil and the butter has an oily or salvy ap- 

 pearance. There will also be a great loss of butter globules in 

 the buttermilk. The low temperature, say 50 to 54 degrees for 

 summer and three or four degrees higher in winter for factories 

 and 55 to 60 degrees for the farm, will give the most desirable 

 body and result in the complete removal of butter from the but- 

 termilk. It usually takes much longer to churn at a low tempera- 

 ture than at a high one. Any churn, which is claimed to make 



