Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1897-07-22
BUTTER AND CHEESE CULTURE.
A New Operation and How 1t Is Put
Into Effect.

PLANTATION of terms. The word butter
culture as it is generally used, applies
to a substance which is purchased from
the bacteriologist, and is seen general
ly in bottles. After this has been add
ed to a quantity of milk, which in
turn will be added to the large quantity
of milk for the cheese or to the cream,
quantity Of milk that is to be used to
put into a larger quantity of milk to
aid in the ripening process. This
starter may or may not have had Gull
ture added to it.
The use of butter cultures has come
as one of the NATURAL consequences of
the Idea that small plants which go by
the name of bacteria are responsible
for 81 of the changes which take place
in organic bodies or material. They
are responsible for the good and bad
tastes of milk and butter. The souring
Of milk is due to one form of bacteria.
Bitter milk is caused by another, when
it is not caused by eating rag weed,
Blue milk is caused by another; Shiny
milk by another, and a multitude of
other changes in milk which are not SO
common, are all due to forms of this
plant
But because so many of the undesir-
able qualities of milk are caused by
that they are an unmixed evil which
should be avoided as much as possible.
On the other hand, if it were not for
bacteria, it would be impossible to
make butter or cheese that would be fit
TO eat. All of the delicate fiavors are
caused by bacteria, and all of the
changes which need to take place be-
fore good butter or cheese can be maze
are caused by bacteria. 1t is only a
question of which form of the bacteria
gets the best start in the milk, which
decides the quality Of the milk. If a
desirable form gets the best start then
there will be no trouble with the milk,
while if an undesirable form gets the
best start most any kind of trouble
may be expected.
With the foregoing knowledge it was
but a short step for somebody to adopt
some scheme that would give the de-
sirable forms Of bacteria the best start
or increase the numbers so they would
check the growth of those that would
be an injury to the milk. BacterioIo-
gists took up the question. They al
ready knew how to isolate different
species of bacteria and after expert
menting some of them found out how
they could put the desirable forms into
they could be used and these bacteria
in bottles of fluid is what is known as
butter and cheese cultures.
1t is a well known fact that milk
which gets good clean sour taste to
it will make the best kind of butter,
while any other noticeable taste or
smell is to be avoided. If we can get
the milk or cream to sour in the natur-
al way a starter is a super1uous
article. But milk will not always sour
as it should and in such a case it is
very desirable that measures be adopt
ed if possible which will force it to do
so. So it was the sour-milk germ
which the bacteriologist looked for and
found and which the dairyman desires
to add to his milk. Many bacteriolo-
gists claim to have other germs in
their preparations sucn as those which
give butter its nutty flavor, or special
germs needed in the successful manu-
facture of cheese. Be this as it may,
all are designed and used for the same
purpose and to obtain the same results.
Which is the best will always be dis
puted question the same as which is
the best separator or the best make of
churn. 1t may never be decided.
Now comes the question of how and
when this culture is to be used. Milk
as it comes from the COW is compare
lively germ free. The bacteria, both
good and bad, must get into it after the
milking. This being the case the
sooner the culture is added to the milk
the better will be the chance for the
desirable germs to outgrow and over
come all other forms of life in the
milk. If the culture could be added at
this time it would require but a very
small quantity; but unluckily, in the
case Of creameries and cheese factories,
it can not be added until the milk
reaches the factory and in the case of
butter making until the milk has been
separated. This makes it necessary
that large quantity should be used to
overcome the large numbers of evil
bacteria which have had time to deveI-
op. To furnish the large number that
will be required it is necessary that
some method be adopted by which the
number in the bottle may be increased.
This can be done by adding the con-
tents Of the bottle to four or five gal
Ions of pasteurized milk and allowing
1t to stand a day in a warm place and
then add the starter as it will be now
called, to the milk the next morning.
This will give very large number of
bacteria
AS was said after the contents of the
bottle had been adedd to the pasteur-
lied milk it is necessary to keep it in
a warm place so the bacteria will null
tiply. A temperature of about Is de-
gress is desired, not very much more
and very little less. 1t is likely that
this will make the milk thick the next
morning. If this is the case the milk
should be strained through hair sieve