- Butterfat
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Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.
Contents
Composition
The fatty acids of butterfat are typically composed as follows (by mass fraction):[1]
- Saturated fatty acids:
- Palmitic acid: 31%
- Myristic acid: 12%
- Stearic acid: 11%
- Lower (at most 12 carbon atoms) saturated fatty acids: 11%
- pentadecanoic acid and heptadecanoic acid: traces
- Unsaturated fatty acids:
- Oleic acid: 24%
- Palmitoleic acid: 4%
- Linoleic acid: 3%
- Linolenic acid: 1%
U.S. Standards
In the U.S., there are federal standards[2] for butterfat content of dairy products.[3][4][5][6] Commercial products generally contain the minimum legal amount of fat.
- Milks
- skim milk contains less than 0.5% fat, typically 0.1%
- lowfat milk contains between 0.5–2% fat; 1% and 2% varieties are widely marketed
- whole milk contains at least 3.25% fat
- Cheeses
- dry curd and nonfat cottage cheese contain less than 0.5% fat
- cottage cheese contains at least 4% fat
- lowfat cottage cheese contains 0.5–2% fat
- Cheddar cheese contains at least 50% fat relative to the total solids
- Swiss cheese contains at least 43% fat relative to the total solids
- Frozen desserts
- Creams
- half and half contains 10.5–18% fat
- light cream and sour cream contain 18–30% fat
- light whipping cream (often called simply "whipping cream") contains 30–36% fat
- heavy cream contains a minimum of 36% fat
- manufacturer's cream (not federally regulated) contains 40% fat
- Butter (including whipped butter) contains at least 80% fat
See also
- Milk
- Fat content of milk
- Milk bottle top
- milk bottle
- Kefir
- Ghee
- Goat milk
- Sheep milk
- Cow milk
- Chocolate milk
- Coconut milk
- soy milk
- Pasteurization of milk
- Rice milk
References
- ^ National Research Council, 1976, online edition Fat Content and Composition of Animal Products, Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Science, Washington, D.C., ISBN 0-309-02440-4; p. 203
- ^ United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service
- ^ USDA Commercial Item Description: Milks, Fluid (2001).
- ^ USDA Specifications for Cream Cheese, Cream Cheese with other Foods, and Related Products (1994).
- ^ United States Department of Agriculture Standard for Ice Cream (1977).
- ^ USDA Commercial Item Description: Cream, Eggnog, Half-and-half, and Sour Cream (2002).
Butter Beurre blanc • Beurre noir • Beurre noisette • Beurre à la bourguignonne • Bog butter • Butter (2011 film) • Butter churn • Butter knife • Butter lamb • Butter lamp • Butter rebellion • Butter sculpture • Butter tea • The ButterCream Gang • Buttered cat paradox • Butterfat • Chicago Butter and Egg Board • Churning • Clarified butter • Compound butter • Egg butter • French butter dish • Ghee • Lurpak • Manteiga-da-terra • Niter kibbeh • Paula Deen • Scotch hands
Categories:- Dairy products
- Food ingredients
- Butter
- Food ingredient stubs
- Saturated fatty acids:
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