"The butter is a food product obtained by processing the cream obtained from cow's milk or from its serum"
Butters produced with milk from different species, such as goat's or sheep's milk, must state their origin on the label.
Butter production
Extraction of the creamBurrificationHomemade Murder Homemade ButterNutritional Properties
Chemical composition and nutritional value Classification Butter or margarine - butter or olive oil?Vegetable butters
Cocoa butter Shea Butter Peanut butterButter production
Butter can be considered a concentrate of the lipid fraction of milk, which is prepared in two distinct phases:
- cream extraction from milk: the lipid fraction is concentrated about 10 times, obtaining an oil-in-water emulsion in which the fat content reaches 35-40%.
- Transformation of the cream into butter: the lipid phase is further concentrated and reaches percentages close to 80-85%; there is also an inversion of the emulsion, which passes from the oil-in-water type (typical of milk and cream) to the water-in-oil type, where small particles of whey (buttermilk) remain dispersed in the lipid mass.
Unlike milk fat, in which lipids are present in the form of globules (droplets wrapped in a lipoprotein membrane), the butter fat contains a certain percentage of whole blood cells and small droplets of serum or buttermilk.
Homemade butter - Video Recipe
In the Video, our Personal Cooker explains in detail the artisan and industrial production processes of butter; follows (minute 4:20 ") the demonstration of how simple it is to prepare butter at home starting from the cream.
If you want to prepare homemade butter easily, don't miss the video of the alternative recipe: Homemade Butter in a Bottle
Homemade butter
X Problems with video playback? Reload from YouTube Go to Video Page Go to Video Recipes Section Watch the video on youtubeExtraction from the cream
The cream of milk, or more commonly cream, is the raw material from which butter is obtained; it appears as a liquid with a more or less consistent appearance (depending on the lipid concentration), a yellowish color, a fragrant smell and a pleasant taste.
In addition to the production of butter, the cream can also be used for direct consumption (cooking cream, coffee or whipping cream), the manufacture of mascarpone and ice cream, and the enrichment of cheeses and dairy products in lipids (during the preparation of the milk from which yoghurt is obtained, for example, it is necessary to standardize its lipid fraction, if this is too low it is corrected with the addition of cream).
The cream is industrially obtained by centrifuging the milk at 6500-7000 rpm. The fat globules, less dense and lighter than water, separate from the milk and move towards the center of the machine. The entire operation, carried out at a temperature between 32 and 55 ° C, takes place in special skimmers and makes it possible to obtain a yield of 35-40% in relatively short times (a few minutes).
The cream obtained through the use of skimmers (centrifuges) is called "DOLCE", because - given the rapidity of the process - the microorganisms naturally present in the milk do not have time to carry out the acidifying fermentation process. Therefore a cream without flavor is obtained; on the contrary, during the fermentation process, a whole series of aromatic compounds are generated which constitute the typical flavor of butter.
"ACID" is defined as the cream collected on the surface by spontaneous surfacing from the milk left to rest for 10-20 hours at 10-15 ° C; during this time the microorganisms normally present in the food begin to ferment lactose to lactic acid, producing a series of aromatic substances. The lowering of the pH determines the denaturation of the proteins that make up the outer membrane of the fat globules, the weakening of this structure and the consequent release of lipid droplets, which join little by little until the separation of the cream from the rest of the milk. This practice, whose yield is close to 25%, is no longer used for hygienic reasons and for the risk of potential pathogenic contaminations; it is performed - but only in closed containers and at a controlled temperature - only to produce long-ripening hard cheeses, which must be processed starting from low-fat milk; among these, for example, PDO Parmesan cheese must follow a very strict production disciplinary which includes - among other things - the skimming of milk for surfacing. In this way, unwanted contamination of the product is avoided, obtaining at the same time a cream with a lower pH (acid) and rich in aromatic substances; its use gives the product (be it butter or cheese) a more flavorful aroma, but clashes with production costs that are clearly higher than mechanical centrifugation.
The cream can also be obtained from whey (after cheese production); obviously the chemical composition changes, which depends on the origin and the type of extraction.
Surfacing cream | Centrifuge cream | Serum cream | |
Fat | 20-24 | 32-36 | 44-48 |
water | 69-73 | 59-63 | 48-52 |
Protein | 2.5-2.7 | 0.7-0.8 | 0.3-0.5 |
Lactose | 3.5-3.8 | 3.5-3.8 | 2.7 to 3.0 |
Ashes (mineral salts) | 0.5-0.6 | 0.5-0.6 | 0.1 |
The title of the cream, that is the percentage of fat it contains, varies according to the uses for which it is intended:
PRODUCT | FAT MATTER |
Coffee cream | ≥ 10% |
Cream or cooking cream | ≥ 20% |
Cream or whipping cream | ≥ 30% |
Mascarpone cream | 20-30% |
For discontinuous buttermaking | 35-40% |
For continuous brewing * | 80% |
Whatever its destination, the cream must undergo, like milk, at least one pasteurization or UHT sterilization treatment to inactivate any microorganisms present. It is preferable to use the latter method for cream intended for direct consumption, such as cooking, whipping or for coffee, while pasteurization is carried out, therefore a milder treatment, for the cream intended for other uses.
The milk cream is therefore the raw material from which the butter is obtained, thanks to the subsequent buttering process.
