In making butter from the butter fat in milk, it is necessary to concentrate the fat globules into cream, preliminary to the churning process. The cream may be raised by the gravity process or separated from the milk by centrifugal action. In either case the bacteria that are normally present in the milk differentiate themselves in varying numbers in the cream and the skim-milk. The cream always contains per cc. a great many more than the skim-milk, the reason for this being that the bacteria are caught and held in the masses of fat globules, which, on account of their lighter specific gravity, move toward the surface of the milk or toward the interior of the separator bowl. This filtering action of the fat globules is similar to what happens in muddy water upon standing. As the suspended particles fall to the bottom they carry with them a large number of the organisms that are in the liquid.

Various creaming methods. The creaming method has an important bearing on the kind as well as the number of the bacteria that are to be found in the cream. The difference in species is largely determined by the difference in ripening temperature, while the varying number is governed more by the age of the milk.

1. Primitive gravity methods. In the old shallow-pan process, the temperature of the milk is relatively high, as the milk is allowed to cool naturally. This comparatively high temperature favors especially the development of those forms whose optimum growing-point is near the air temperature. By this method the cream layer is exposed to the air for a longer time than with any other, and consequently the contamination from this source is greater. Usually cream obtained by the shallow-pan process will contain a larger number of species and also have a higher acid content.

2. Modern gravity methods. In the Cooley process, or any of the modern gravity methods where cold water or ice is used to lower the temperature, the conditions do not favor the growth of a large variety of species. The number of bacteria in the cream will depend largely upon the manner in which the milk is handled previous to setting. If care is used in milking, and the milk is kept so as to exclude outside contamination, the cream will be freer from bacteria than if carelessness prevails in handling the milk. Only those forms will develop in abundance that are able to grow at the low temperature at which the milk is set. Cream raised by this method is less frequently infected with undesirable forms than that which is creamed at a higher temperature.

3. Centrifugal method. Separator cream should contain less germ-life than that which is secured in the old way. It should contain only those forms that have found their way into the milk during and subsequent to the milking, for the cream is ordinarily separated so soon that there is but little opportunity of infection, if care is taken in the handling. As a consequence, the number of species found therein is smaller.

Where milk is separated, it is always prudent to cool the cream so as to check growth, as the milk is generally heated before separating in order to skim efficiently.

Although cream is numerically much richer in bacteria than milk, yet the changes due to bacterial action are slower; hence milk sours more rapidly than cream. For this same reason, cream will sour sooner when it remains on the milk than it will if it is separated as soon as possible. This fact indicates the necessity of early creaming, so as to increase the keeping quality of the product, and is another argument in favor of the separator process.

Ripening of cream. If cream is allowed to remain at ordinary temperatures, it undergoes a series of fermentation changes that are exceedingly complex in character, the result of which is to produce in butter made from the same the characteristic flavor and aroma that are so well known in this article. We are so accustomed to the development of these flavors in butter that they are not generally recognized as being intimately associated with bacterial activity unless compared with butter made from perfectly fresh cream. Sweet-cream butter lacks the aromatic principle that is prominent in the ripened product, and while the flavor is delicate, it is relatively unpronounced.

In the primitive method of butter-making, where the butter was made on the farm, the ripening of cream became a necessity in order that sufficient material might be accumulated to make a churning. The ripening change occurred spontaneously without the exercise of any especial control. With the development of the creamery system came the necessity of exercising a control of this process, and therefore the modern butter-maker must understand the principles which are involved in this series of complex changes that largely give to his product its commercial value.

In these ripening changes three different factors are to be taken into consideration: the development of acid, flavor and aroma. Much confusion in the past has arisen from a failure to discriminate between these qualities. While all three are produced simultaneously in ordinary ripening, it does not necessarily follow that they are produced by the same cause. If the ripening changes are allowed to go too far, undesirable rather than beneficial decomposition products are produced. These greatly impair the value of butter, so that it becomes necessary to know just to what extent this process should be carried.

In cream ripening there is a very marked bacterial growth, the extent of which is determined mainly by the temperature of the cream. Conn and Esten[153] find that the number of organisms may vary widely in unripened cream, but that the germ content of the ripened product is more uniform. When cream is ready for the churn, it often contains 500,000,000 organisms per cc., and frequently even a higher number. This represents a germ content that has no parallel in any natural material.

The larger proportion of bacteria in cream as it is found in the creamery belong to the acid-producing class, but in the process of ripening, these forms seem to thrive still better, so that when it is ready for churning the germ content of the cream is practically made up of this type.

Effect on churning. In fresh cream the fat globules which are suspended in the milk serum are surrounded by a film of albuminous material which prevents them from coalescing readily. During the ripening changes, this enveloping substance is modified, probably by partial solution, so that the globules cohere when agitated, as in churning. The result is that ripened cream churns more easily, and as it is possible to cause a larger number of the smaller fat-globules to cohere to the butter granules, the yield is slightly larger—a point of considerable economic importance where large quantities of butter are made.

Development of acid. The result of this enormous bacterial multiplication is that acid is produced in cream, lactic being the principal acid so formed.

Other organic acids are undoubtedly formed as well as certain aromatic products. While the production of acid as a result of fermentative activity is usually accompanied with a development of flavor, the flavor is not directly produced by the formation of acid. If cream is treated in proper proportions with a commercial acid, as hydrochloric,[154] it assumes the same churning properties as found in normally ripened cream, but is devoid of the desired aromatic qualities. Lactic acid[155] has also been used in a similar way but with no better results.

The amount of acidity that should be developed under natural conditions so as to secure the optimum quality as to flavor and aroma is the most important question in cream ripening. Concerning this there have been two somewhat divergent views as to what is best in practice, some holding that better results were obtained with cream ripened to a high degree of acidity than where a less amount was developed.[156] The present tendency seems to be to develop somewhat more than formerly, as it is thought that this secures more of the "high, quick" flavor wanted in the market. On the average, cream is ripened to about 0.5 to 0.65 per cent. acidity, a higher percentage than this giving a strong-flavored butter. In the determination of acidity, the most convenient method is to employ the Farrington alkaline tablet, which permits of an accurate and rapid estimation of the acidity in the ripening cream. The amount of acidity to be produced must of necessity be governed by the amount of butter-fat present, for the formation of acid is confined to the serum of the cream; consequently, a rich cream would show less acid by titration than a thinner cream, and still contain really as much acid as the other. The importance of this factor is evident in gathered-cream factories.

The rate of ripening is dependent upon the conditions that affect the rate of growth of bacterial life, such as time and temperature, number of organisms in cream and also the per cent of butter fat in the cream. Some years ago it was customary to ripen cream at about 50° to 60° F., but more recently better results have been obtained, it is claimed, where the ripening temperature is increased and the period of ripening lessened. As high a temperature as 70° to 75° F. has been recommended. It should be said that this variation in practice may have a valid scientific foundation, for the temperature of the ripening cream is undoubtedly the most potent factor in determining what kind of bacteria will develop most luxuriantly. It is well known that those forms that are capable of producing bitter flavors are able to thrive better at a lower temperature than some of the desirable ripening species.

The importance of this factor would be lessened where a pure culture was used in pasteurized cream, because here practically the selected organism alone controls the field.

It is frequently asserted that better results are obtained by stirring the cream and so exposing it to the air as much as possible. Experiments made at the Ontario Agricultural College, however, show practically no difference in the quality of the butter made by these two methods. The great majority of the bacteria in the cream belong to the facultative class, and are able to grow under conditions where they are not in direct contact with the air.

Flavor and aroma. The basis for the peculiar flavor or taste which ripened cream-butter possesses is due, in large part, to the formation of certain decomposition products formed by various bacteria. Aroma is a quality often confounded with flavor, but this is produced by volatile products only, which appeal to the sense of smell rather than taste. Generally a good flavor is accompanied by a desirable aroma, but the origin of the two qualities is not necessarily dependent on the same organisms. The quality of flavor and aroma in butter is, of course, also affected by other conditions, as, for instance, the presence or absence of salt, as well as the inherent qualities of the milk, that are controlled, to some extent at least, by the character of the feed which is consumed by the animal. The exact source of these desirable but evanescent qualities in butter is not yet satisfactorily determined. According to Storch,[157] flavors are produced by the decomposition of the milk sugar and the absorption of the volatile flavors by the butter fat. Conn[158] holds that the nitrogenous elements in cream serve as food for bacteria, and in the decomposition of which the desired aromatic substance is produced. The change is unquestionably a complex one, and cannot be explained as a single fermentation.

There is no longer much doubt but that both acid-forming and casein-digesting species can take part in the production of proper flavors as well as desirable aromas. The researches of Conn,[159] who has studied this question most exhaustively, indicate that both of these types of decomposition participate in the production of flavor and aroma. He has shown that both flavor and aroma production are independent of acid; that many good flavor-producing forms belong to that class which renders milk alkaline, or do not change the reaction at all. Some of these species liquefied gelatin and would therefore belong to the casein-dissolving class. Those species that produced bad flavors are also included in both fermentative types. Conn has found a number of organisms that are favorable flavor-producers; in fact they were much more numerous than desirable aroma-yielding species. None of the favorable aroma forms according to his investigations were lactic-acid species,—a view which is also shared by Weigmann.[160]

McDonnell[161] has found that the production of aroma in certain cases varies at different temperatures, the most pronounced being evolved near the optimum growing temperature, which, as a general rule, is too high for cream ripening.

The majority of bacteria in ripening cream do not seem to exert any marked influence in butter. A considerable number of species are positively beneficial, inasmuch as they produce a good flavor or aroma. A more limited number are concerned in the production of undesirable ripening changes. This condition being true, it may seem strange that butter is as good as it is, because so frequently the requisite care is not given to the development of proper ripening. In all probability the chief reason why this is so is that those bacteria that find milk and cream pre-eminently suited to their development, e. g. the lactic-acid class, are either neutral or beneficial in their effect on butter.

Use of starters. Experience has amply demonstrated that it is possible to control the nature of the fermentative changes that occur in ripening cream to such an extent as to materially improve the quality of the butter. This is frequently done by the addition of a "starter." While starters have been employed for many years for the purpose mentioned, it is only recently that their nature has been understood. A starter may be selected from widely divergent sources, but in all cases it is sure to contain a large number of bacteria, and the presumption is that they are of such a nature as to produce desirable fermentative changes in the cream.

In the selection of these so-called natural starters, it follows that they must be chosen under such conditions as experience has shown to give favorable results. For this purpose, whole milk from a single animal is often used where the same is observed to sour with the production of no gas or other undesirable taint. A skim-milk starter from a mixed supply is recommended by many. Butter milk is frequently employed, but in the opinion of butter experts is not as suitable as the others mentioned.

It not infrequently happens that the practical operator may be misled in selecting a starter that is not desirable, or by continuing its use after it has become contaminated.

In 1890[162] a new system of cream ripening was introduced in Denmark by Storch that possesses the merit of being a truly scientific and at the same time practical method. This consisted in the use of pure cultures of specific organisms that were selected on account of their ability to produce a desirable ripening change in cream. The introduction of these so-called culture starters has become universal in Denmark, and in parts of Germany. Their use is also rapidly extending in this country, Australia and New Zealand.

Principles of pure-culture cream-ripening. In the proper use of pure cultures for ripening cream, it is necessary first to eliminate as far as possible the bacteria already present in cream before the culture starter is added. This result is accomplished by heating the cream to a temperature sufficiently high to destroy the vegetating organisms. The addition of a properly selected starter will then give the chosen organism such an impetus as will generally enable it to gain the ascendency over any other bacteria and so control the character of the ripening. The principle employed is quite like that practiced in raising grain. The farmer prepares his soil by plowing, in this way killing the weeds. Then he sows his selected grain, which is merely a pure culture, and by the rapid growth of this, other forms are held in check.

The attempt has been made to use these culture starters in raw sweet cream, but it can scarcely be expected that the most beneficial results will be attained in this way. This method has been justified on the basis of the following experiments. Where cream is pasteurized and no starter is added, the spore-bearing forms frequently produce undesirable flavors. These can almost always be controlled if a culture starter is added, the obnoxious form being repressed by the presence of the added starter. This condition is interpreted as indicating that the addition of a starter to cream which already contains developing bacteria will prevent those originally present in the cream from growing.[163] This repressive action of one species on another is a well-known bacteriological fact, but it must be remembered that such an explanation is only applicable in those cases where the culture organism is better able to develop than those forms that already exist in the cream.

If the culture organism is added to raw milk or cream which already contains a flora that is well suited to develop in this medium, it is quite doubtful whether it would gain the supremacy in the ripening cream. The above method of adding a culture to raw cream renders cream-ripening details less burdensome, but at the same time Danish experience, which is entitled to most credence on this question, is opposed to this method.

Reputed advantages of culture starters. 1. Flavor and aroma. Naturally the flavor produced by pure-culture ferments depends upon the character of the organism used. Those which are most extensively used are able to produce a perfectly clean but mild flavor, and a delicate but not pronounced aroma. The "high, quick" flavor and aroma that is so much desired in the American market is not readily obtained by the use of cultures. It is quite problematical whether the use of any single species will give any more marked aroma than normally occurs in natural ripening.

2. Uniformity of product. Culture starters produce a more uniform product because the type of fermentation is under more complete control, and herein is the greatest advantage to be derived from their use. Even the best butter-maker at times will fail to secure uniform results if his starter is not perfectly satisfactory.

3. Keeping quality of product. Butter made from pasteurized cream to which a pure-culture starter has been added will keep much better than the ordinary product, because the diversity of the bacterial flora is less and the milk is therefore not so likely to contain those organisms that produce an "off" condition.

4. Elimination of taints. Many defective conditions in butter are attributable to the growth of undesirable bacteria in the cream that result in the formation of "off" flavors and taints. If cream is pasteurized, thereby destroying these organisms, then ripened with pure ferments, it is generally possible to eliminate the abnormal conditions.[164] Taints may also be present in cream due to direct absorption from the cow or through exposure to foul odors.[165] Troubles of this sort may thus be carried over to the butter. This is particularly true in regions where leeks and wild onions abound, as in some of the Atlantic States. The heating of the cream tends to expel these volatile taints, so that a fairly good article of butter can be made from what would otherwise be a relatively worthless product.

Characteristics desired in culture starters. Certain conditions as the following are desirable in starters made from pure cultures:

1. Vigorous growth in milk at ordinary ripening temperatures.

2. Ability to form acid so as to facilitate churning and increase the yield of butter.

3. Able to produce a clean flavor and desirable aroma.

4. Impart a good keeping quality to butter.

5. Not easily modified in its flavor-producing qualities by artificial cultivation.

These different conditions are difficult to attain, for the reason that some of them seem to be in part incompatible. Weigmann[166] found that a good aroma was generally an evanescent property, and therefore opposed to good keeping quality. Conn has shown that the functions of acid-formation, flavor and aroma production are not necessarily related, and therefore the chances of finding a single organism that possesses all the desirable attributes are not very good.

In all probability no one germ possesses all of these desirable qualities, but natural ripening is the resultant of the action of several forms.[167] This idea has led to the attempt at mixing selected organisms that have been chosen on account of certain favorable characteristics which they might possess. The difficulty of maintaining such a composite culture in its correct proportions when it is propagated in the creamery is seemingly well nigh insuperable, as one organism is very apt to develop more or less rapidly than the other.

A very satisfactory way in which these cultures are marketed is to mix the bacterial growth with some sterile, inert, dry substance. This is the method used in most of the Danish cultures. In this country, some of the more prominent cultures employed are marketed in a liquid form.

Culture vs. home-made starters. One great advantage which has accrued from the use of culture or commercial starters has been that in emphasizing the need of closer control of the ripening process, greater attention has been paid to the carrying out of the details. In the hands of the better operators, the differences in flavor of butter made with a culture or a natural starter are not marked,[168] but in the hands of those who fail to make a good product under ordinary conditions, an improvement is often secured where a commercial culture is used.

Pasteurization as applied to butter-making. This process, as applied to butter making, is often confounded with the treatment of milk and cream for direct consumption. It is unfortunate that the same term is used in connection with the two methods, for they have but little in common except in the use of heat to destroy the germ life of the milk. In pasteurizing cream for butter-making, it is not necessary to observe the stringent precautions that are to be noted in the preservation of milk; for the addition of a rapidly developing starter controls at once the fermentative changes that subsequently occur. Then again, the physical requirement as to the production of a cooked taste is not so stringent in butter-making. While a cooked taste is imparted to milk or even cream at about 158° F., it is possible to make butter that shows no permanent cooked taste from cream that has been raised as high as 185° or even 195° F. This is due to the fact that the fat does not readily take up those substances that give to scalded milk its peculiar flavor.

Unless care is taken in the manipulation of the heated cream, the grain or body of the butter may be injured. This tendency can be overcome if the ripened cream is chilled to 48° F. for about two hours before churning. It is also essential that the heated cream should be quickly and thoroughly chilled after being pasteurized.

The Danes, who were the first to employ pasteurization in butter-making, used, in the beginning, a temperature ranging from 158° to 167° F., but owing to the prevalence of such diseases as tuberculosis and foot-and-mouth disease, it became necessary to treat all of the skim milk that was returned from the creameries. For this purpose the skim milk is heated to a temperature of 176° F., it having been more recently determined that this degree of heat is sufficient to destroy the seeds of disease. With the use of this higher temperature the capacity of the pasteurizing apparatus is considerably reduced, but the higher temperature is rendered necessary by the prevailing conditions as to disease.

When the system was first introduced in Denmark, two methods of procedure were followed: the whole milk was heated to a sufficiently high temperature to thoroughly pasteurize it before it was separated, or it was separated first, and the cream pasteurized afterwards. In the latter case, it is necessary to heat the skim milk after separation to destroy the disease organisms, but this can be quickly done by the use of steam directly. Much more care must be used in heating the cream in order to prevent injury to the grain of the butter. In spite of the extra trouble of heating the cream and skim milk separately, this method has practically supplanted the single heating. With the continual spread of tuberculosis in America the heating of skim milk separately is beginning to be introduced.[169]

Use of starters in pasteurized and unpasteurized cream. In order to secure the beneficial results presumably attributable to the use of a starter, natural as well as a pure culture, it should be employed in cream in which the bacteria have first been killed out by pasteurization. This is certainly the most logical and scientific method and is the way in which the process has been developed in Denmark.

Here in this country, the use of pure cultures has been quite rapidly extended, but the system of heating the cream has been used in only a slight measure. The increased labor and expense incurred in pasteurizing the cream has naturally militated somewhat against the wide-spread use of the process, but doubtless the main factor has been the inability to secure as high a flavor where the cream was heated as in the unheated product. As the demands of the market change from a high, quick flavor to one that is somewhat milder but of better keeping quality, doubtless pasteurization of the cream will become more and more popular. That such a change is gradually occurring is already evident, although as yet only a small proportion of butter made in this country is now made in this way. Where the cream is unheated, a considerable number of species will be found, and even the addition of a pure culture, if that culture is of the lactic acid-producing species, will to some extent control the type of fermentation that occurs. Such would not be the case with a culture composed of the casein-digesting type of bacteria. Only those forms could thus be used which are especially well suited to development in raw cream. For this reason the pure culture ferments that are generally employed in creamery practice are organisms of the lactic acid type, able to grow rapidly in cream and produce a pure cream flavor in the butter.

Purity of commercial starters. Naturally the butter maker is forced to rely on the laboratory for his commercial starter, and the question will often arise as to the purity and vigor of the various ferments employed. As there is no way for the factory operator to ascertain the actual condition of the starter, except by using the same, the greatest care should be taken by the manufacturer to insure the absolute purity of the seed used.

A bacteriological examination of the various cultures which have been placed on the market not infrequently reveals an impure condition. In several cases the writer has found a not inconsiderable number of liquefying bacteria mixed with the selected organism. Molds not infrequently are found in cultures put up in the dry form. Doubtless the effect of these accidental contaminations is considerably less in the case of a starter composed of a distinctively lactic acid-producing organism than with a form which is less capable of thriving vigorously in milk, and it should be said that these impurities can frequently be eliminated by continued propagation.

The virility and vigor of the starter is also a fluctuating factor, dependent in part at least, upon the conditions under which the organism is grown. In some cases the germ is cultivated in solutions in which acid cannot be formed in abundance. Where the conditions permit of the formation of acid, as would be the case if sugar was present with a lactic acid-producing species, the vitality of the culture is often impaired by the action of the gradually accumulating acid. Some manufacturers attempt to minimize this deleterious condition by adding carbonate of lime which unites with the acid that is formed.

Propagation of starters for cream-ripening. The preparation and propagation of a starter for cream-ripening is a process involving considerable bacteriological knowledge, whether the starter is of domestic origin or prepared from a pure-culture ferment. In any event, it is necessary that the starter should be handled in a way so as to prevent the introduction of foreign bacteria as far as possible. It should be remembered at all times that the starter is a live thing and must be handled throughout its entire history in a way so as to retain its vitality and vigor unimpaired. The following points should be taken into consideration in growing the starter and transferring it from day to day:

1. If a commercial starter is used, see that it is fresh and that the seal has not been broken. If the culture is too old, the larger part of the organisms may have died out before it is transferred, in which case the effect of its addition to the sterilized milk would be of little value.

When the commercial ferment is received, it should be stored in the refrigerator pending its use so as to retard as much as possible the changes that naturally go on in the culture liquid. Be careful that the bottle is not exposed to the influence of direct sunlight for in a transparent medium the organisms may be readily killed by the disinfecting action of the sun's rays.

2. If a home-made starter is employed, use the greatest possible care in selecting the milk that is to be used as a basis for the starter.

3. For the propagation and perpetuation of the starter from day to day, it is necessary that the same should be grown in milk that is as germ-free as it is possible to secure it. For this purpose sterilize some fresh skim-milk in a covered can that has previously been well steamed. This can be done easily by setting cans containing skim-milk in a vat filled with water and heating the same to 180° F. or above for one-half hour or more. Steam should not be introduced directly. This process destroys all but a few of the most resistant spore-bearing organisms. This will give a cooked flavor to the milk, but will not affect the cream to which the starter is added. Dairy supply houses are now introducing the use of starter cans that are specially made for this purpose.

4. After the heated milk is cooled down to about 70° or 80° F., it can be inoculated with the desired culture. Sometimes it is desirable to "build up" the starter by propagating it first in a smaller volume of milk, and then after this has developed, adding it to a larger amount.

This method is of particular value where a large amount of starter is needed for the cream-ripening.

5. After the milk has been inoculated, it should be kept at a temperature that is suitable for the rapid development of the contained bacteria, 65°-75° F., which temperature should be kept as uniform as possible.

This can best be done by setting the covered can in a vat filled with warm water. The starter cans are often arranged so that temperature can be controlled by circulating water.

6. The starter should not be too thoroughly curdled when it is needed for use, but should be well soured and only partially curdled for it is difficult to break up thoroughly the curd particles if the starter is completely curdled. If these curd masses are added to ripening cream, white specks may appear in the butter.

7. The vigor of the starter is in all probability stronger when the milk is on the point of curdling than it is after the curd has been formed some time. The continued formation of lactic acid kills many of the bacteria and thus weakens the fermentative action. It is therefore highly important that the acidity of the starter should be closely watched.

8. Do not refrigerate the starter when it has reached the proper stage of development, as this retards the bacterial growth in the same manner as cold weather checks the growth of grain. It is preferable to dilute the starter, if it cannot be used when ready, with sufficient freshly sterilized sweet milk to hold the acidity at the proper point and thus keep the bacteria in the starter in a condition which will favor vigorous growth.

9. The starter should be propagated from day to day by adding a small quantity to a new lot of freshly prepared milk. For this purpose two propagating cans should be provided so that one starter may be in use while the other is being prepared.

How long should a starter be propagated? No hard-and-fast rule can be given for this, for it depends largely upon how carefully the starter is handled during its propagation. If the starter is grown in sterilized milk kept in steamed vessels and is handled with sterile dippers, it is possible to maintain it in a state of relative purity for a considerable period of time; if, however, no especial care is given, it will soon become infected by the air, and the retention of its purity will depend more upon the ability of the contained organism to choke out foreign growths than upon any other factor. Experience seems to indicate that pure-culture starters "run out" sooner than domestic starters. While it is possible, by bacteriological methods, to determine with accuracy the actual condition of a starter as to its germ content, still such methods are inapplicable in creamery practice. Here the maker must rely largely upon the general appearance of the starter as determined by taste and smell. The supply houses that deal in cultures of this class generally expect to supply a new culture at least every month.

Bacteria in butter. As ripened cream is necessarily rich in bacteria, it follows that butter will also contain germ life in varying amounts, but as butter-fat is not well adapted for bacterial food, the number of germs in butter is usually less than in ripened cream.

Sweet-cream butter is naturally poorer in germ life than that made from ripened cream. Grotenfelt reports in sweet-cream butter, the so-called "Paris butter," only a few bacteria while in acid cream butter the germ content runs from scores to hundreds of thousands.

Effect of bacteria in wash water. An important factor in contamination may be the wash water that is used. Much carelessness often prevails regarding the location and drainage of the creamery well, and if same becomes polluted with organic matter, bacterial growth goes on apace. Melick[170] has made some interesting studies on using pasteurized and sterilized well waters for washing. He found a direct relation to exist between the bacterial content of the wash water and the keeping quality of the butter. Some creameries have tried filtered water but under ordinary conditions a filter, unless it is tended to with great regularity, becomes a source of infection rather than otherwise.

Changes in germ content. The bacteria that are incorporated with the butter as it first "comes" undergo a slight increase for the first few days. The duration of this period of increase is dependent largely upon the condition of the butter. If the buttermilk is well worked out of the butter, the increase is slight and lasts for a few days only, while the presence of so nutritious a medium as buttermilk affords conditions much more favorable for the continued growth of the organisms.

While there may be many varieties in butter when it is fresh, they are very soon reduced in kind as well as number. The lactic acid group of organisms disappear quite rapidly; the spore-bearing species remaining for a somewhat longer time. Butter examined after it is several months old is often found to be almost free from germs.

In the manufacture of butter there is much that is dependent upon the mechanical processes of churning, washing, salting and working the product. These processes do not involve any bacteriological principles other than those that are incident to cleanliness. The cream, if ripened properly, will contain such enormous numbers of favorable forms that the access of the few organisms that are derived from the churn, the air, or the water in washing will have little effect, unless the conditions are abnormal.

BACTERIAL DEFECTS IN BUTTER.

Rancid change in butter. Fresh butter has a peculiar aroma that is very desirable and one that enhances the market price, if it can be retained; but this delicate flavor is more or less evanescent, soon disappearing, even in the best makes. While a good butter loses with age some of the peculiar aroma that it possesses when first made, yet a gilt-edged product should retain its good keeping qualities for some length of time. All butters, however, sooner or later undergo a change that renders them worthless for table use. This change is usually a rancidity that is observed in all stale products of this class. The cause of this rancid condition in butter was at first attributed to the formation of butyric acid, but it is now recognized that other changes also enter in.[171] Light and especially air also exert a marked effect on the flavor of butter. Where butter is kept in small packages it is much more prone to develop off flavors than when packed in large tubs. From the carefully executed experiments of Jensen it appears that some of the molds as well as certain species of bacteria are able to incite these changes. These organisms are common in the air and water and it therefore readily follows that inoculation occurs.

Practically, rancidity is held in check by storing butter at low temperatures where germ growth is quite suspended.

Lack of flavor. Often this may be due to improper handling of the cream in not allowing it to ripen far enough, but sometimes it is impossible to produce a high flavor. The lack of flavor in this case is due to the absence of the proper flavor-producing organisms. This condition can usually be overcome by the addition of a proper starter.

Putrid butter. This specific butter trouble has been observed in Denmark, where it has been studied by Jensen.[172] Butter affected by it rapidly acquires a peculiar putrid odor that ruins it for table use. Sometimes, this flavor may be developed in the cream previous to churning.

Jensen found the trouble to be due to several different putrefactive bacteria. One form which he called Bacillus f[oe]tidus lactis, a close ally of the common feces bacillus, produced this rotten odor and taste in milk in a very short time. Fortunately, this organism was easily killed by a comparatively low heat, so that pasteurization of the cream and use of a culture starter quickly eliminated the trouble, where it was tried.

Turnip-flavored butter. Butter sometimes acquires a peculiar flavor recalling the order of turnips, rutabagas, and other root crops. Often this trouble is due to feeding, there being in several of these crops, aromatic substances that pass directly into the milk, but in some instances the trouble arises from bacteria that are able to produce decomposition products,[173] the odor and taste of which strongly recalls these vegetables.

"Cowy" butter. Frequently there is to be noted in milk a peculiar odor that resembles that of the cow stable. Usually this defect in milk has been ascribed to the absorption of impure gases by the milk as it cools, although the gases and odors naturally present in fresh milk have this peculiar property that is demonstrable by certain methods of aeration. Occasionally it is transmitted to butter, and recently Pammel[174] has isolated from butter a bacillus that produced in milk the same peculiar odor so commonly present in stables.

Lardy and tallowy butter. The presence of this unpleasant taste in butter may be due to a variety of causes. In some instances, improper food seems to be the source of the trouble; then again, butter exposed to direct sunlight bleaches in color and develops a lardy flavor.[175] In addition to these, cases have been found in which the defect has been traced to the action of bacteria. Storch[176] has described a lactic-acid form in a sample of tallowy butter that was able to produce this disagreeable odor.

Oily butter. Jensen has isolated one of the causes of the dreaded oily butter that is reported quite frequently in Denmark. The specific organism that he found belongs to the sour-milk bacteria. In twenty-four hours it curdles milk, the curd being solid like that of ordinary sour milk. There is produced, however, in addition to this, an unpleasant odor and taste resembling that of machine oil, a peculiarity that is transmitted directly to butter made from affected cream.

Bitter butter. Now and then butter develops a bitter taste that may be due to a variety of different bacterial forms. In most cases, the bitter flavor in the butter is derived primarily from the bacteria present in the cream or milk. Several of the fermentations of this character in milk are also to be found in butter. In addition to these defects produced by a biological cause, bitter flavors in butter are sometimes produced by the milk being impregnated with volatile, bitter substances derived from weeds.

Moldy butter. This defect is perhaps the most serious because most common. It is produced by the development of a number of different varieties of molds. The trouble appears most frequently in packed butter on the outside of the mass of butter in contact with the tub. Mold spores are so widely disseminated that if proper conditions are given for their germination, they are almost sure to develop. In some cases the mold is due to the growth of the ordinary bread mold, Penicillium glaucum; in other cases a black mold develops, due often to Cladosporium butyri. Not infrequently trouble of this character is associated with the use of parchment wrappers. The difficulty can easily be held in check by soaking the parchment linings and the tubs in a strong brine, or paraffining the inside of the tub.

Fishy butter. Considerable trouble has been experienced in Australian butter exported to Europe in which a fishy flavor developed. It was noted that the production of this defect seemed to be dependent upon the storage temperature at which the butter was kept. When the butter was refrigerated at 15° F. no further difficulty was experienced. It is claimed that the cause of this condition is due to the formation of trimethylamine (herring brine odor) due to the growth of the mold fungus Oidium lactis, developing in combination with the lactic-acid bacteria.

A fishy taste is sometimes noted in canned butter. Rogers[177] has determined that this flavor is caused by yeasts (Torula) which produce fat-splitting enzyms capable of producing this undesirable change.