The Science of Butter

1. The Science of Butter

2. Making Butter • You need: • Cream • Whisk • Bowl • Cheese cloth • Salt, if preferred

3. The cream should be at room temperature so that the lactose in the milk begins to ferment and produce lactic acid

4. Start Whisking Whisking lets the fat molecules within the cream hit each other and combine into larger particles The fat molecules in cream, along with the water in the cream, make a colloid, a mixture containing solid particles that are small enough to remain suspended.

5. The fat molecules are surrounded by a membrane made of phospholipids and proteins (similar to a cell membrane) which prevent the fat from coming together to form a single mass Agitating the cream (by whisking) damages these membranes and allows the fat molecules to pool together and create a single mass – BUTTER!

6. An increase in lactic acid causes a drop in the pH which will change the configuration of the proteins in cream/milk – this is how we make cheese, yogurt, sour cream and butter. Our butter can go rancid, whereby butyric acid is formed, which is nasty!