🧈 Technology of Butter Production
- 1. Definition
Butter is a water-in-oil emulsion obtained by churning cream, where fat globules are aggregated into a continuous fat phase, while water and milk solids are dispersed as tiny droplets. It usually contains 80–82% milk fat, 16–18% water, and 1–2% non-fat solids.
- 2. Raw Material
Sweet cream (pasteurized and standardized to ~35–40% fat).
Sometimes fermented cream is used to produce cultured butter with a characteristic sour flavor.
- Main Technological Steps
🔹 1. Cream Preparation
Separation: Cream is obtained from milk by centrifugation.
Standardization: Fat content is adjusted to 35–40%.
🔹 2. Pasteurization
Cream is heated to 85–90 °C for 15–20 seconds to kill microorganisms and inactivate enzymes.
Pasteurization improves the flavor and shelf life of butter.
🔹 3. Cooling and Maturation (Ripening)
The cream is cooled to 8–12 °C and held for several hours.
If making cultured butter, starter cultures (lactic acid bacteria) are added to develop acidity and flavor compounds (e.g., diacetyl).
🔹 4. Churning
Cream is mechanically agitated in a churn.
Phase inversion occurs: fat globules collide, membranes break, and fat begins to aggregate.
At the “breaking point,” butter granules separate from the liquid phase (buttermilk).
🔹 5. Washing and Working
Butter granules are washed with cold water to remove residual buttermilk.
The butter is kneaded (“worked”) to evenly distribute moisture, improve consistency, and expel excess liquid.
🔹 6. Salting (optional)
Salt may be added (1–2%) to enhance flavor and improve preservation.
🔹 7. Packaging and Storage
Butter is shaped into blocks or wrapped in foil/paper.
Stored at 2–5 °C, where it remains stable for weeks; deep freezing extends shelf life further.
- Types of Butter
Sweet cream butter – made from fresh pasteurized cream.
Cultured butter – made from fermented cream with lactic acid bacteria.
Salted butter – contains added salt.
Unsalted butter – without salt, often used in baking.
Clarified butter / Ghee – butterfat obtained after removing water and milk solids by heating.
- 5. By-product: Buttermilk
The liquid left after churning is buttermilk, containing water, proteins, lactose, and residual fat.
It can be used in bakery products, beverages, or animal feed.
✅ Summary for students:
Butter production involves cream preparation → pasteurization → ripening → churning → washing/working → salting → packaging.
It is essentially the transformation of cream into a water-in-oil emulsion with characteristic taste, texture, and high fat content.