Imperial Valley press., 1922-07-19
No!Excuse for Sour
Cream in Valley
BY E. H BILES,
Dairy Inspector, State Department OF
Agriculture

Dairy Inspector, State Department OF
Agriculture
Cooling of milk and cream is one of
the thief essentials in producing high
quality product. Unless cooling can be-
done properly and efficiently along
with thorough cleansing and protection
of milk from dirt, the milk or cream
will not keep sweet long. Cleansing and
protection keep out contamination by
bacteria aud filth, while cooling checks
growth of any bacterial life that may
be present, and all fresh milk usually
has "a small bacterial content.
Experiments show that milk or cream
cooled to 50 degrees F. ad held there
will keep sweet for several days or a
week. Little is gained below this
temperature. Any amount of cooling
below the natural temperature is bene'
fetal, though of course not so much
good results could be expected in cool
ing from 95 degrees to S5 degrees F..
as from S5 to IS degrees F. The great
est gain seems to be between IS and
50 degrees. We might call cooling to
80 degrees F. poor, 80 degrees F. medi
um, 20 degrees F. fair, so degrees F..
good, and 80 degrees F. excellent for
sake of comparison. Lactic acid bac
terra which sour the milk grow best at
% to to los degrees +. and thus we
may suppose that any cooling below
% degrees +. produces some benefit.
Valley Temperature High
Much of the cream arriving at the
valley plants now is between 90 and
100 degrees F., which of course is a
bad one for sOuring and stale flavOrs
or gassy ferments. The wet blankets
and sacks used on trucks show 10 to
Is degrees reduction in cream tempera
ture over using a dry cover. Wet sacks
on trucks show best results. Cream
hauled lin this manner shows less tend
ency to staleness and gas. Yet with
all the creameries are doing, the big
gain in cream quality can still be made
by better cooling at the dairy.
This cooling at the dairy is an un-
solved question with many. They say,
why cool! In winter it is unneces-
sary and in summer the water is too
warm The law requires cooling to as
low temperature as practicable with
in an hour after milking. 1t is re.
grettable that cooling is in most eases
not even attempted on the dairy. No
effort is made or ingenuity used to try
to find Il way to effectively and cheap
ly cool the milk or cream.
Now cooling is necessary and valu-
able at seasons. There is plenty of cold
water in winter and dairy products
could be considerably improved by good
cooling. In summer it is very necessary
aud shows large Improvement in quail
ity. OF cream in several ways. We find
iii cream grading at plants that on a
certain day about half the cream will
be sweet most the remainder slightly
sour and little of it will be very sour
and off flavor, being bitter, weedy or
cowy from dirt. This shows very plain
ly that what is being done with half
the cream, is possible with practically
all of it.
We believe there Is little excuse for
much sour cream even in summer in
the valley. There is. simply need of
development of cheap effective cool.
ing system that can be easily used and
cleaned all the year, and then require
dairymen to use it constantly. The
conscientious and careful dairymen are
getting cream into plants in sweet con
dltlon, and. many more could do it if
they knew how or would take pains to
do it.
Mix should be cooled as fast as
drawn. Because the truck collects it as
soon as milking is finished, is no ex-
cuse for not cooling. Since it takes
about three hours to milk a string of
cows, the first can must stand about
two hours after filling, besides the trip
to the plant. This does not comply
with legal requirements. Standing cans
in a trough Of cold water and stirring
every ten minutes, will do well in
winter. In summer wet sacks should
be on the empty eaus and sacks kent
wet all through milking, by little
water in IA shallow trough into which
the bottom Of the sacks will hang. This
trough must be shallow to allow the air
to strike the body of the can as fully
as possible. Keep milk and cream shad
ed at all times. Cream should be cooled
on coming from the separator by run.
ning IT into separate can or milk
bucket with a wet sack about it. When
cool, pour into the nights cream if two
cans are used. Some experimenting is
needed to bring out simple cooling
apparatus for valley use, and here is
an opening for some progressive and in.
genuous dairyman to gain fame. In the
meantime we must use tanks in winte er
and wet-sacks in summer and thus secure
best results possible for the present.