CREAM BLENDING

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 54, Issue 3896, 30 April 1937, Page 6

CREAM BLENDING

DELICATE BUTTER FLAVOURS. An examination of cream on the receiving platform of almost any factory would indicate the necessity for careful treatment and storage on the farm (states a bulletin issued by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock). Proper blending of the cream after separation was an essential which producers must come to recognise if cream quality was to improve.

The process of cream ripening was necessary for the development of delicate butter flavours, and the dairyman must see that the ripening took place in a normal manner. He could not prevent the entry of the bacteria which caused souring of th cream, but he could control the rate of their multiplication. By slowing down their activity, staleness and over-ripe-ness, which led to the development of off-flavours, could be avoided. Small quantities of cream were more c.fficult to hold in a satisfactory condition than larger quantities, and consequently the dairy farmer should keep his supply in as large a bulk as possible.

Objections to blending had been raised by some farmers, who claimed that if the cream from each milking was kept separate, only portion of the supply would be graded “ second grade ” when sent to the factory. To this suggestion, however, the Department held that the aim of the dairy farmer to-day was, or should be, to have all and not merely part of his cream of the highest “ choice ” quality.

To blend correctly, the cream from each separation, was first cooled for about an hour before adding to the bulk supply, which should always be kept as cool as possible. If a cooler and aerator were used effectively the cream was ready for blending immediately after treatment. Thorough and frequent stirring with a metal stirrer was a necessary adjunct to correct blending. If two or more cans were to be sent to the factory, approximately equal portions of the cooled cream from each separation should be placed in each can. This would ensure that a standard cream was supplied.—-Cou-rier-Mail, Brisbane.