yiS The Use of Starters in Dairying. [dec, 



by taking half a gallon of separated milk in a clean enamel 

 pail, heating it to 170 0 Fahr., and then cooling to 84 0 Fahr. 

 Into this, after shaking the bottle containing the pure 

 culture, pour the contents of the bottle, stir and then cover 

 with a muslin cloth. Set in a room at a temperature not below 

 65 0 Fahr. for twenty-four hours. The milk should then be 

 thick and sour. Make a second sub-culture from this by 

 taking some more separated milk which has been pasteurised, 

 and, after skimming off the top layer, take, say, a pint from 

 the centre of the culture in the first pail and strain into it. Set 

 as before. A third culture should sometimes be made. This 

 can safely be used for hastening the ripening process. Each 

 day about a pint should be reserved for inoculating more pas- 

 teurised separated milk for the following day's starter. A good 

 starter will contain 75 to '85 per cent, of lactic acid, and in 

 order to get this one needs to attend to the time of setting, 

 the temperature of the milk to be inoculated, the amount 

 of starter used, and the temperature of the dairy. Where 

 a night temperature of 70 0 Fahr. can be looked for, good 

 results can be obtained by adding \ to f pint of the previous 

 culture to each gallon of scalded milk and setting it at 

 4 or 5 p.m. With the dairy at a lower temperature, it 

 must be set earlier ; about midday answers well in some 

 dairies. 



Home-made Starters. — These can be prepared by taking 

 two enamelled pails and pouring into one some newly 

 separated or skimmed milk which has been pasteurised and 

 cooled. Set in a warm place for 24 hours, when the milk will 

 be sour and thick. Skim off the surface and break up the 

 centre of this soured milk, then take about half a pint and add 

 to a similar quantity of milk in the second pail, which has also 

 been previously pasteurised and cooled to about 65 0 Fahr. 

 Make a sub-culture from this, as mentioned above, when the 

 third one should be fairly pure culture. If the surface or any 

 part becomes discoloured, this part should be rejected and 

 only the pure white portion used. When the starter becomes 

 weak and does not sour the milk sufficiently, either more 

 starter should be used or a fresh pure starter made. It is 

 advisable to prepare as much starter as will equal about 

 1 per cent, of the milk to be inoculated. After setting a 



