Navigating the butter aisle: Genuine versus impostor unveils
How can you distinguish real butter from an imitation? It seems straightforward, but due to the ingenuity of dairy product manufacturers, anyone can become confused. Especially amidst the holiday rush, it's easy to make such a mistake.
When buying butter, closely inspect the label. There should be a distinct word "butter". Even if it’s creamy, it may contain hydrogenated vegetable fats, which are not healthy. If the product isn’t called "butter", it means it isn’t.
how to tell real butter from a fake?
Real butter consists of 82% milk fat. 16% is water, and the remaining 2% are milk proteins. These influence the structure and consistency of the block. Lactose, or natural milk sugar, is present in butter in small amounts. However, if you have a high lactose intolerance, lactose-free products are a better choice for you.
When choosing the block, avoid products that contain vegetable oils. If it’s not specified which oils are used, it could include palm oil, which primarily consists of saturated fatty acids.
Good, natural butter has a light colour and creamy aroma. When taken out of the refrigerator, it is hard and challenging to spread on a slice of bread.
White foam on butter – is it a bad sign?
If you see white foam while heating butter, don’t panic. It’s a positive indication, signifying that the butter is natural. When you heat it, water starts to evaporate, and proteins denature and coagulate, forming white foam on the surface. This foam is removed in the process of clarifying butter.
Can you fry with butter?
Due to its low smoke point, natural butter should not be used for frying at high temperatures. At about 150 degrees Celsius, it begins to burn, and the byproducts of burning are harmful to health. It is suitable for frying scrambled eggs or sautéing onions at low temperatures, but should not be used for frying fish.
A much better choice is clarified butter, which has a smoke point of 250 degrees Celsius. The healthiest option is to prepare the Christmas dinner in the oven.
Natural butter can have different colours
Most blocks without vegetable fats have a light, almost white colour. However, the colour of butter can vary depending on the season and the diet of cows. Dairy produced from the cream of cows fed fresh grass is somewhat more yellow than butter from cows fed with dry feed. The best guide is the smell. Fresh original butter smells like milk, while the so-called blend often smells like margarine.
How to make butter at home?
Making butter at home is straightforward and does not require specialised equipment. The only ingredient needed is cream with a high-fat content, at least 30%.
Homemade butter recipe:
- Pour chilled cream into a mixer or bowl. Whip at high speed until thick cream forms and then turns into butter. Once the fat separates from the buttermilk, stop whipping.
- Using a strainer or cheesecloth, separate the buttermilk from the butter clumps. Don’t discard it – it’s excellent for baking or pancakes.
- Rinse the butter with cold water to remove any remaining buttermilk and extend the product's shelf life.
- Form the butter into a block and place it in the fridge.
The butter prepared this way is ready to consume immediately. Its taste, consistency, and smell can successfully compete with store-bought products, and making it provides the extra satisfaction of self-production. You can add your favourite spices, herbs, or garlic to the butter.
