Products
Butter is available in grocery stores. Other animal and vegetable fats are also referred to as butter.
Structure and properties
Butter is made from the cream of animal milk, especially cow’s milk. Goat butter and sheep butter are less commonly used. Butter is spreadable and has a light yellow to yellow color. Over 20 liters of cow’s milk are needed to produce one kilogram of butter. Butter is a purely natural product that contains no additives. It consists mainly of milk fat (lipids), i.e. triglycerides with saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol. It also contains water, minerals (e.g. calcium) and vitamins (e.g. vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E). Carbohydrates, lactose and protein is present only in small quantities. Butter quickly becomes liquid when heated. The melting point is about 33°C.
Applications
- As a spread on bread.
- For cooking, sauteing and baking.
- To refine and season, for example, pasta.
Ordinary butter is not suitable for frying. It should be stored in the refrigerator and can be frozen.
Undesirable effects
Butter has a high energy density and a calorific value of about 730 kcal per 100 g.