The morning call., 1895-02-13
R.ipeniup Cream.


by excluding the air.
Ripening Cream.
From my experience While travenhg
through the country visiting number OF
farm dairies and witnessing the dl1ferent
modes of handling milk, cream and butter,
| am convinced that the ripenlng or sour
ing of the cream properly is the least I'M
derstood of all the different parts OF the
process of butter-making. In some dalres
visited l found cream that had been taken
from the pan or creamer in good condition,
and poured at each skimming into churn
or other wooden dish, that according to ap-
pearances had been in use for that and
many other purposes since the carry settie-
ment of the country and doubtless was satu,
rated with the germs of fermentation ana
decay from years of accumulaflon:
The cream had not been properly mixed
together at each addition. and the tenn
perature OF the milkroom had been above
20 deg; consequently the ripening process
had gone on rapidly and yet unevenly. In
the bottom of the vessel the casein remain
ing in the cream had changed to particles
OF curd from the action OF the lactlc acld
from the sugar of the milk under the above
conditions, while the cream at the top OF
the vessel (or the last that had been added)
had not yet become sufficiently rlpened Tor
the easy and perfect separation OF the but
ter fat from the residue by the process OF
churning.
The above is but one of the many i'm
perfect modes of saving and ripening
cream practiced by people that call them
selves good butter-makers, who go on
bllndly or carelessly in this or some SINH
lar way, never taking into consideration
the loss in quantity sustained by churnlng
oxr-i+b i M or O
in quality by either allowing whole or
even part of churning (thus effecting the
whole) to become so ripe or soured to such
an extent that the sugar of the milk is COM
pletely changed to acid, robbing the butter
produced of the sweetness it should con-
tain and substituting therefore the germs
of fermentation and ultimate decay.
have also found people who advocate
and practice the opposite extreme OF
churning the cream sweet or before any
perceptible chemical change has taken
place in it. This practice also regard as
erroneous. Although the butter produced
should contain its proportion of sugar in
its natural form and be very nice and
sweet for immediate use, yet for that very
reason-namely, that the sugar is still in
the butter and liable to change when ex-
posed to the atmosphere-its keeping
qualities are not considered as good as
butter made from cream that has become
slightly acid before churning, so that all
traces of acidity may be washed and
worked out.
Again, sweet cream will not allow all
the butter fat to separate and form into
granules as readily and perfectly as cream
that has been sufficiently ripened or had
the adhesive nature of the casein changed
or neutralized by a partial formation of
acid from the sugar of the milk, thus allow
ing the butter globules to come directly
together and form into granules more
readily by the process of churning if done
at the proper temperature.
Having pointed out some of the bad
methods practiced, | wish, in as short a
space as possible to describe what l con-
slider to be the proper mode of handling
and ripenlng cream-namely, medium
between the two extremes above described.
The vessel for saving cream in should be
either tin or earthen ware, well glazed;
and should be kept where the surrounding
temperature is below 40 degrees if possible,
thus not allowing the ripening to go on
until a sufficient quantity of cream has
been saved for churning. Then place the
cream can in temperature of from so to
65 degrees in the summer season and from
65 to 20 in winter, stirring often until the
cream thickens a little and acquires a
pleasant or slightly acid taste, mingled
with the natural sweetness OF the cream,
being careful not to allow the temperature
to rise or the acid to form sufficiently to
lapper or curdle the casein of the milk in
the cream. When it has arrived at the
above condition, which can soon be ascer-
tanned by little care and experience it is
ready for churning, which should be done
at as low temperature as the butter will
form at.
Sometimes the butter-makers cannot
conveniently control the temperature of
the cream while being saved. In such case
it is necessary to thoroughly stir and mix
the cream together three or four times
day until sufficient quantity is saved,
being careful to keep the temperature low
and not to add any sweet cream within the
last twenty-four hours of the time ofchurn-
ing.
In the winter season, when cows have
been fed largely on dry feed lacking in
sugar, especially if they have been milking
for number of months, the milk produced
is also liable to lack in sugar, that import
ant element in bringing about the ripening
of the cream, in which case it is recon-
mended to add little starter" to the
cream few hours before churning. The
starter is made by souring skimmilk to
quite an acid condition, renewing it from
time to time and keeping it on hand in
cool place for the above purpose.
Herald