Butter

Abstract

Butter is one of the oldest forms of preserving fat components of milk. Its manufacture dates back to some of the earliest historical records. The evolution of the art of buttermaking has been associated with the development and use of equipment. The construction of creaming and buttermaking equipment in the eighteenth century led to the appearance of the barrel churn. Creaming was at first done by a method called shallow pan. This was followed by a deep‐setting system. This shortened process time and produced a better quality cream. In 1879, cream separators for fully continuous operation were produced. The Babcock test assisted in the development of the butter industry. This test determines the percentage of fat in milk and cream. Other developments included the use of pasteurization, the use of pure cultures of lactic acid and bacteria, and the use of refrigeration. Multiple butterfat products include butter oils, anhydrous butterfat, butterfat–vegetable oils, and fractionated butterfats. Preservation of butterfat today involves the processing of butterfat to anhydrous butter oil. Shelf life is improved because the butter oil is hermetically packaged under nitrogen. Recent times have seen a decline in the consumption of butter but this situation is being somewhat reversed more recently. This decline contradicts all historical patterns for butterfat consumption. Reasons for decline are noted. This article provides data on chemical composition, marketing, technology, processing, quality, legal restrictions, and uses.

Effects of differences in whey composition on the physicochemical properties of whey butter

“…Milk carotenoids, mainly consisting of β‐carotene, are the main contributor of yellow colour in dairy products and protect riboflavin against photooxidation and milk lipids against autoxidation (Hettinga 2005; Nozière et al . 2006).…”

“… * Data for milk butter taken from 1 Sağdıç et al . (2004); 2 Hettinga (2005); 3 Ledoux et al . (2005); 4 Baer et al .…”

“…The fatty acid composition of butter is particularly important in determining its physical, chemical and nutritional properties. Milk fat contains approximately 400 fatty acids; however, the vast majority of fatty acids are found at only trace quantities (Hettinga 2005). Table 3 shows 16 major fatty acids quantified in the butter samples by the GC‐FID identifications along with the summary of the literature data.…”