Butter

From Citizendium
Revision as of 21:35, 1 April 2008 by imported>Aleta Curry (+ a little more - hope I got that cookie bit right-Todd's right about the bible bit.)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is a stub and thus not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
Recipes [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.
See the tab above for Recipes of Butter.

Butter is a food made from churning milk or cream to separate out the solids. It is a highly concentrated milk product, taking approximately 2.5 gallons of milk to create 1 pound of butter. The by-product, a thin liquid, is called skim milk. Butter is a key ingredient in many recipes and is used in several cooking methods, such as baking and sautéing.

Butter adds flavour and calories to food, as it is high in fat (about 100 calories per tablespoon). Butter is solid in cold temperatures, becomes more spreadable at warmer temperatures, liquefies quickly when heated and burns easily. It can also alter the consistency of food, for example, cookies made with butter tend to be crunchier, those prepared with vegetable oil have a softer texture.

History

Butter has been around since ancient times with numerous references made to it in the Bible. [1]

  1. "...the churning of milk produces butter." Proverbs 30:33.