Butter

Butter is a soft food made from cream.

To make it, people shake or churn cream. This separates the fat from the liquid. The liquid left behind is called buttermilk.

Most butter comes from cows. It can also come from goats or sheep. People add salt to help it stay good for longer.

Butter can be pale or bright yellow. It is soft at room temperature. It melts into a liquid when it gets hot.

We use it to spread on bread. It is also great for cooking and baking. Do you like the taste of butter?

Butter is a soft food made from milk. Most butter comes from cows. It can also come from goats, sheep, or yaks.

To make it, people churn cream. This means they shake it quickly. This step breaks tiny fat parts. The fat then joins together. It separates from a liquid called buttermilk.

Butter can look different. It is often pale yellow. Some people add food coloring to make it bright. You can spread it on bread. You can also melt it for cooking.

Some people make clarified butter. This is butter with the water and milk solids removed. It is almost all fat. Ghee is a type of clarified butter. It is heated until the solids turn brown. This helps it stay good for a long time.

Butter has a long history. Ancient people used it in the Near East. Some Greeks used it as medicine. In the Middle Ages, many people in Europe ate it. It was a common food for peasants.

Butter is a tasty dairy product made from the fat in cream. It is a semi-solid gel that feels soft at room temperature. Most people use it as a spread on warm bread. You can also melt it to make sauces or use it for frying in a pan. It is mostly made from cow's milk. However, people also make it from the milk of goats, sheep, buffalo, and yaks.

Making butter is a very interesting process. It starts with cream, which contains tiny fat globules. These little bits of fat are held apart by thin membranes. When you churn the cream, you shake it to break those membranes. This allows the fat to join together into larger pieces. These pieces eventually separate from a liquid called buttermilk. In the past, people used wooden boards called scotch hands to press and knead the butter grains. This helped turn them into a solid mass.

Humans have been making butter for a very long time. Some experts believe it was invented during the Neolithic era. In ancient Sumer, tablets from 2,500 B.C. described how to make it. These tablets even called butter a ritual offering. Interestingly, ancient Greeks and Romans did not always eat it. They often used it as medicine or an ointment for the skin. One Greek poet even called certain people "butter-eaters."

There are many different kinds of butter you can find. Sweet cream butter is made from fresh cream and is common in the United States. Cultured butter is made from cream that has fermented, which gives it a richer taste. In 2022, the world produced six million tonnes of cow milk butter. The United States led the world, making 13% of that total. You can also make clarified butter by heating it to remove water and milk solids.

Butter connects to many things in our daily lives. Some people make ghee, which is a type of clarified butter heated to 120 °C. This makes the milk solids turn brown and helps it stay fresh for months. You might see different colors of butter in a shop. While it is usually pale yellow, makers sometimes add carotene or annatto for color. Whether it is used in a flaky pastry or a simple sauce, butter is a key part of cooking around the world.

Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It exists as a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature. This means it is a mixture of liquid and solid parts held together in a gel-like structure. Most butter consists of approximately 81% butterfat. People use it in many ways, such as a spread, a melted condiment, or a fat for baking and frying.

While cow's milk is the most common source, butter can be made from many mammals. This includes sheep, goats, buffalo, and yaks. The process relies on agitating the cream to separate fat globules from the buttermilk. In unhomogenized milk, tiny fat globules are surrounded by membranes made of proteins and phospholipids. These membranes act as emulsifiers to keep the fat from pooling together. Churning damages these membranes, allowing the fats to conjoin into larger masses.

The consistency of butter depends on its fat composition. It contains three forms of fat: free butterfat, butterfat crystals, and undamaged fat globules. Butters with many crystals feel harder to the touch. Commercial butter is typically about 80% butterfat and 15% water. However, traditional methods might produce butter with only 65% fat and 30% water. After churning, the small grains are often "worked" by pressing and kneading. Historically, people used wooden boards called scotch hands to consolidate the mass and remove extra buttermilk.

There are two primary types of butter: sweet cream and cultured. Sweet cream butter is made from fresh cream and is common in the United States and the United Kingdom. Cultured butter is made from cream that has fermented, allowing bacteria to convert milk sugars into lactic acid. This fermentation creates aroma compounds like diacetyl, which provide a fuller flavor. Cultured butter is preferred in much of continental Europe. In the United States, cultured butter is sometimes labeled as "European-style."

History shows that butter has played many roles in human culture. It may have been invented during the Neolithic era. Sumerian tablets from 2,500 B.C. describe the milking of cattle and identify butter as a ritual offering. Interestingly, ancient Greeks and Romans often viewed butter differently. They frequently used it as a medicine or an ointment rather than food. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder even called it a food of "barbarous nations."

In the Middle Ages, butter was often a food for peasants in Europe. Its status changed when the Roman Catholic Church allowed its consumption during Lent in the early 16th century. This led to the rise of the middle class using butter in cooking. In 2022, global production of cow milk butter reached six million tonnes. The United States led this production, accounting for 13% of the total.

Different cooking methods create specialized versions of butter. Clarified butter is made by heating butter to remove water and milk solids. This leaves almost pure butterfat. Ghee is a specific type of clarified butter heated to 120 °C. This high heat turns the milk solids brown and creates antioxidants. These antioxidants help ghee stay fresh for six to eight months.

Butter also connects to various culinary traditions and legal protections. Some regions have protected geographical indications for their specific butters. Examples include Beurre d'Isigny from France and Mantequilla de Soria from Spain. Other varieties, like whey butter, are made as a byproduct of cheese-making. Whey butter has a lower fat content and a more tangy, cheesy taste. Whether used in a Hollandaise sauce or a simple spread, butter remains a vital part of global food systems.