8 types of Butter that make our food so delicious

There are several types of butter with distinct flavour, aroma and texture. Usually, the
manufacturer specifies the type of cream used during production on the label of the
packaging.

1.) Raw cream butter: Raw cream butter is made using fresh, pure, unpasteurized cream. Due to this, it is prone to spoilage and has a short shelf life of 10 days unless it is frozen. Raw cream butter is a rarity in present day.

2.) Sweet cream butter : Sweet cream butter is the common butter found in Europe and North America. It is made using pasteurized fresh cream with at least 80% fat and no more than 16% water. In 19th century, production of sweet cream butter became common with the development of refrigeration and the mechanical cream separator. Salted sweet cream butter came into existent when salt was added as a preservative. 1-2% of salt is added for its antimicrobial properties as well as enhancement of flavour of butter.

3.) Cultured cream butter : The pre-industrial, hand-made European butter was made by fermenting raw cream naturally. The bacteria converted lactose in milk into lactic acid and the fermentation produced complex flavours and additional aroma compounds such as diacetyl which made the butter taste richer and intense.

The modern day cultured cream butter is a controlled version made from pasteurized cream inoculated with lactic acid producing bacteria. The fermentation takes place for 12 to 18 hours at room temperature before churning. Another manufacturing process implements churning of sweet cream into butter first. Later, preformed lactic acid and bacterial culture is added to the butter. In this process, the flavor develops while aging the butter in cold storage. Artificially flavoured butter resembling cultured cream butter is manufactured by adding pure lactic acid and flavor compounds to sweet cream butter.

4.) European-style butter : European-style butter is an American version of the continental European standard cultured cream butter that contains more than 80% fat, usually 82% – 85%. These butters are often referred as dry butter as they contain less than 20% water. These dry butters are specially useful in making flaky pastries.

5.) Spreadable butter : Spreadable butter remains soft under cold temperatures. This makes it easy to apply on a surface right out of the refrigerator. To achieve the soft texture, some processes include modification in cattle’s feed, or emulsification of vegetable oil and butter, or alteration in chemical properties of the butterfat.

6.) Whipped butter : Whipped butter is a spreadable butter made using sweet cream butter aerated by injecting nitrogen gas instead of air. This prevents oxidation leading to rancidity.

7.) Specialty butters : Specialty french butter such as Beurre cuisinier, beurre pâtissier, and beurre concentré are almost pure butterfat made to meet the specific needs of professional bakers and pastry chefs. It is made by melting butter and separating the fat from milk solids and water in a centrifuge. It is then crystallized and prepared such that they melt at temperatures between 27ºC and 40ºC as required by the chef.

8.) Clarified Butter : Clarified butter, ghee, is pure milk fat isolated by removing water and all the milk solids present in cream. It has a high smoke point making it suitable for frying. It is a clear liquid fat when melted.

The clarification process involves boiling the butter to 90ºC where water starts to evaporate. As the temperature rises to 120ºC, the lactose, whey protein and casein in the milk solids form a froth that continues to brown and dehydrate during the boiling process. This enhances the flavour of ghee and introduces antioxidants into the mixture that prevents rancidity of the product. The dry whey protein is skimmed off the top. The liquid fat and the casein particles at the bottom are separated by straining.

Traditionally, ghee is made from whole milk that is soured by lactic acid bacteria and then churned to obtain butter that is clarified. The souring enhances the flavour of the butter. However, industrialized processes start with cream for faster production.