Bacteria
Everywhere, in the air, in water, in the soil, and clinging to every object in the world, are minute organisms known under the common names of bacteria or microbes. In contrast to rennet and the other “unorganized” ferments, bacteria belong to the “organized” class. Some are harmful, producing putrefaction, dissolution, poisons or disease; others are beneficial, leading to desirable fermentations and changes; others again are indifferent, neither good nor bad, but harmless.
As the milk comes from the cow it is almost free from bacteria, but milk makes an excellent soil for many of these organisms to grow in, and they soon get in, to multiply with enormous rapidity at any temperature from 60° to 100° F.
Lactic Acid Bacilli are bacteria of special importance to the dairyman, for they convert sugar of milk into lactic acid and produce various more or less agreeable flavors. They are also powerful germicides and scavengers, destroying or neutralizing the products of other bacteria which in the absence of these bacteria and the lactic acid produced by them would play havoc with the food and produce putrefaction or disease. Everybody who handles milk knows that pure sour milk or buttermilk in which lactic acid bacteria abound keeps well for a long time, free from other fermentations which have no chance to develop in their presence. It is due to this purifying property that Metchnikoff recommended Bulgarian sour milk as a health food, asserting that it prevents harmful fermentations in the digestive channel.
The Control of Bacteria
The principal means at our disposal to prevent or control and regulate bacterial growth are:
Cleanliness, Heat, Cold and Disinfectants.
Cleanliness.—Only the most scrupulous cleanliness will prevent contamination. Hence the necessity of thorough scouring and sterilizing of all utensils, and the need for fresh air and pure water.
Heat.—The prevention of fermentation in milk by heating is called “sterilization” or “pasteurization” according to the intensity of the heat and the length of time the milk is subjected to it. Boiling destroys almost all bacterial life. Some germs require, however, exposure to a much higher temperature, up to 250° F. (boiling under pressure), to be entirely eradicated, but for all practical purposes a thorough boiling is considered sufficient to eliminate all danger of contamination. Such boiling is usually termed Sterilization.
