Butter has been made from milk for human consumption for many millennia. The most common is butter made from cow’s milk. However, the edible fat can also be made from the milk of other animals, such as sheep or goats. The following information mainly refers to butter made from cow’s milk.
Here’s what you should know about butter
Butter has been made from milk for human consumption for many millennia. The most common is butter made from cow’s milk. However, the edible fat can also be obtained from the milk of other animals, such as sheep or goats. Milk in its unprocessed state has a high fat content. Its original meaning is the milk of mother animals as a source of food for the animal offspring. Humans breed animal breeds such as cattle, sheep and goats not only for meat production. Milk and its products also play an important role in human nutrition. To make butter, the cream is first separated from the milk. Then the cream is beaten until the fat separates from the liquid in a granular form. The liquid is called buttermilk. At this point, the butterfat still contains up to one-third water. Kneading further squeezes out the water content, thus reducing it. In Germany, butter is sold with a pure fat content of at least 82 percent. Mass production of butter today uses pasteurized milk, i.e. milk heated to at least 72 degrees Celsius for a few seconds. In the refrigerated shelves of supermarkets, the customer can find various types of butter. One of the more rarely offered products is genuine sour cream butter. The cream is inoculated with lactic acid bacteria before processing. After some time, soured cream is produced, which is then used for butter production. The soured cream produces a butter with a fine sour taste and particularly good spreadability. A milder soured butter is obtained when lactic acid bacteria are added to the granular butterfat after it has been churned. The advantage of this process is that the separated buttermilk is not subjected to lactic acid fermentation. Thus, just like mildly acidified butter, it is more in line with the common taste of consumers. Sweet cream butter is produced when the acidification process is completely omitted before processing. Sweet cream butter has a particularly creamy taste. So-called country butter is also made from unacidified cream. The special feature of country butter is that the cream is not pasteurized before processing. Milk-producing farms sometimes produce country butter for direct marketing. In addition to the above-mentioned varieties, butter preparations can also be found in the refrigerated shelves. Herb butter is made by adding herbs and spices. Sweet cream butter, to which salt has been added and which is sold as “salted butter,” offers a special flavor variant. Another product made from butter is clarified butter. This is the pure butterfat from which the protein and water components still present in the butter have been removed. The appearance and taste of butter depend not only on the type of milk and the method of production. The feeding of the animals also plays an important role. In order to offer the consumer a uniform product in the mass production of butter, butter is often colored with β-carotene.
Importance for health
Fats are an indispensable component for a balanced healthy diet. However, fats such as butter have a high potential for energy. High consumption promotes the development of obesity and thus represents a health risk. Therefore, according to the recommendation of the German Nutrition Society, an adult should not consume more than a total of 60 – 80 grams of fat daily. Fats are found in vegetable oils, cheese, sausage and meat. Fat is important for the taste of food. So is butter. However, fats of animal origin mainly contain saturated fatty acids. These are suspected of having very negative effects on our health. Saturated fatty acids promote the process of arteriosclerosis, the calcification of our arteries. Arteriosclerosis as a disease of our blood vessel system is the basis for numerous, often life-threatening diseases of the heart.Therefore, fats such as those found in sea fish and vegetable oils, which contain health-promoting polyunsaturated fatty acids, should be preferred in our diet. Butter contains only about four percent of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Because of its high energy density and high saturated fat content, butter should be enjoyed only in moderation.
Ingredients and nutritional values
| Nutritional information |
Amount per 100 gram |
| Calories 717 | Fat content 81 g |
| Cholesterol 215 mg |
Sodium 11 mg |
| Potassium 24 mg | Carbohydrates 0.1 g |
| Protein 0.9 g |
Dietary fiber 0 g |
Commercial butters contain 82 grams of fat per 100 grams. In addition, small amounts of protein (0.6 grams) and carbohydrates (0.5 grams) are present. 100 grams of butter provide 741 kcal, which is about 37 percent of a daily requirement of 2,000 kcal. Butter contains various vitamins. The main components are vitamins A, E and beta-carotene. As for minerals and trace elements, the main ones found in butter are calcium, potassium, manganese, copper and fluorine.
Intolerances and allergies
Today, many people suffer from food intolerances. Triggers for digestive problems due to food intolerance can be milk protein and lactose. Histamine intolerances can also occur when milk and dairy products are consumed. Because the amount of histamine and proteins in cream and butter is low, many patients who are otherwise allergic to dairy products tolerate these high-fat foods. Nevertheless, intolerance can also occur when butter is consumed in rare and extreme cases.
Shopping and kitchen tips
The purchase of the type of butter as a spread should depend on each consumer’s personal taste. Experienced housewives advise reaching for sweet cream butter for making pies and cakes. When purchasing butter, always pay attention to the best-before date. The best place to store butter is in the dedicated butter compartment in the refrigerator. Butter also freezes well and can be stored for about six months. Older butter can be recognized by the fact that it becomes more yellowish on the outer surfaces than on the inside of the piece of butter. However, this effect is increasingly being counteracted in industrially produced butter by coloring the butter with β-carotene. This precursor of vitamin A is either added to the cream before churning or already mixed into the cows’ feed.
Preparation tips
Butter should never be heated strongly, as the protein components quickly darken and burn. Clarified butter, clarified butter, is more suitable for sautéing. Butter is very appreciated in cold and hot cuisine. As an alternative to the already seasoned herb butter from the supermarket, it can also be prepared at home with fresh herbs, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Butter is versatile. It is always a tasty and flavorful treat as a spread by adding mustard, tomato paste, peppers, anchovies and many other ingredients. Adding a little butter to cooked vegetables enhances the flavor. Since our organism needs fat to break down vitamin A, it is traditional to add a sting of butter to carrot vegetables in particular, which are rich in vitamin A.
