The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1907-07-18
EFFECT OF BACTERIA In
WASH WATER OF BUTTER
Results Of Experiments by c. w.
MeIiek, q. S., Assistant Dairy Hus-
bandman, Kansas Expert
nnent Station.

t6LuluolAOu III CTSdmcTy DuIlST 10 Iu0S
of impure wash water. Cream may b.
well pasteurized, and the best of start
er may be added SO as to- produce .
perfect flavor, and the entire product
may be spoiled by washing 1t with
the average creamery water.
For the past few years butter has
been greatly improved by pasteuriza-
ton and the use of starter made from
commercial cultures. BY this method
some butter makers have made an av.
erage score of from SO to 81 for weeks,
and in some cases months, in success
sion. Occasionally, however, the but
ter is of flavor, and in almost every
case where butter has scored well
when first churned, after remaining
in cold storage for few months, or
after being in the market few days,
the flavor has fallen from one to five
points. This can be traced in many
cases to the influence of the bacteria
contained in the water used in wash
ing the butter.
In order to determine definitely the
amount of contamination produced in
various kinds of creamery water, a
series of experiments was conducted
at Kansas experiment station at three
different times of the year so as
to embrace the average atmospheric
conditions, temperature, and environ
ment. 1t is a well-established fact
that butter deteriorates much more
rapidly under ordinary conditions in
warm weather than in cold. When
made under sanitary conditions. how.
as we'll in cold storage during July
and August as in January or February.
Deterioration in butter Is caused by
the growth of undesirable bacteria,
enzymadc ferments, or by exposing
to warm temperatures. Bacteria are
introduced either in the cream before
churning, the wash water, an excess
OF buttermilk, or wash water left in
the butter, or by the use of unclean
dairy utensils. A study of the amount
OF contamination from various forms
of bacteria, their habit, method of con-
tamination and their prevention and
destruction was Investigated by the
Kansas sta tinn in the following man
ner:
A cumulative meteorological analy-
sis "f all water coming in contact
with the dairy utensils, churn and
butter was made under average con-
ditions. A churning of butter was
washed with the creamery water at
the usual temperature. One sample
of the butter was kept in cold storage
and another in normal room tempera.
ture. Both samples were carefully
watched and scored whenever any
noticeable change occurred. Another
churning was made at the same time
and washed with the creamery water
coming from the same source, but
having been previously sterilized and
cooled. Samples ct butter washed
with the sterile water were stored
under the same conditions and as
carefully watched as those of the pre-
vious churning. Water was treated in
various ways in order to arrive at the
proper methods for the nest effective
control of the germs it cont aimed. The
cumulative analyses of bacteria were
obtained in the following way: One
tenth cubic centimeter of water was
drawn into a sterilized graduated ri
petite and transferred to a waite, blank
test-tube containing nine-tenths cubic
centimeter of sterilized water. After
shaking well, one tenth cubic cent?.
meter of this was transferred in the
same way to a test-tube containing
sterilized agar medium, well-mixed.
and poured into petri dish. The so
luton then contained one one-hun
dredth cubic centimeter of the orig.
inal watel and the number of colon
les that developed in each dish was
therefore multiplied by 100 to obtain
the average number of bacteria per
cubic centimeter.
In the use of sterile water we have
noticed marked improvement in the
keeping quality of our butter and in
the f1avors which developed later, pro-
viding the water was cooled and used
Immediately after sterilizing. When
the wash water was properly steril-
lied our butter topped the market
every time, and sold for from one
cent to three cents more per pound
than did the samples of hutter which