Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-01-11
Bacteria to Improve Butter.
The Important Discovery Made by n
Connecticut Biologist.

The interesting announcement is made
that II. {. Conn, professor of biology in
Wesleyan university, Middletown, Conn,
has succeeded, after prolonged research, in
discovering a bacillus which will ripen
cream and produce in the winter months a
quality of butter that has the delicate flavor
and wholesomeness of that which is manu-
factured in the summer. Inferior grades
are also improved by this new and COM
paratively inexpensive process. The de-
spatch announcing this fact says: Gas
result of his experiments, Professor Conn
has discovered a species of bacterium, to
which he has given the insignificant name
of bacillus No. Al, and which has given
the most promising results, as an organism
for the artificial ripening of cream in but
ter-making.
These experiments, as carried on by him,
were thoroughly satisfactory and were
made in the following manner: One-half
pint of milk was sterilized, by incessant
steaning, during period of three or four
days. Then this bacillus No Al, which
had been cultivated in the meteorological
laboratory of Wesleyan university, was in
oculated into the milk and for two days
was allowed to develop. The large cream
cry at Cromwell was then visited and six
to eight quarts of cream were put into a
metal vessel and "Pasteurized.n The
cream was then heated to 1jS Fahrenheit,
and left for 10 minutes. The vessel was
removed and cooled quickly by means of
! cold water, and when the temperature had
dropped to so, bacillus No IL was poured
in and the mixture stirred thoroughly.
The vessel was then covered and put into
the rpening room. After a couple of days
Il
remaining was set aside for future use.
| These six quarts were rpened for the pur-
pose of increasing the number of bacteria
and securing a strong culture for use in the
large cream vat of the creamery. The
buttermilk was then inoculated into the
days cream supply, and this cream was al
| lowed to ripen in regular time, at warm
| temperature, and churned as usual. Be
! fore churning quantity was set aside to
use for incubation in the next days sup
| ply, and in this manner continued indetin-
itely.
The effect was always uniform. The
first six quarts of cream produced moder-
ately good butter, but not quite of the
flavor wanted. The first large churning
was a trihe better, and each days product
was an Improvement A delicate flavor
also developed, which seemed to deterio
rate after two or three weeks. This dete,
rioration was remedied by fresh inocula.
tion from the laboratory. Two vats Of
cream, from which June butter was made
were taken. One quantity was inOculateC
and the other was not. The butter pro
duced by each was of high quality; bu
that which had been inoculated with bacil
lus No. Al had an aroma stronger and mor'
pleasant than that without. 1t was alsC
superior in taste and odor. One lot wa
sent to Mr.. Beck, in Massachusetts,, wht
makes the highest grade of butter, and WHIT
conn ands a very high price in the Bostol
market. Mr. Beck used the culture anC
reported decided improvement 1t is tn
purpose of Professor Conn to INTRODUCES
this incubation process in all the larg,
creameries in the United States within tn
next wear,