What is the butter compound and what to watch on its packaging?
The basis for making quality butter is only the best quality and ideally freshest cream. The more fresh, the better and the longer it is. Therefore, it is good if the milk comes from local farms.
"Under EU regulations, the minimum butterfat percentage is set at 80% but can not reach 90% . The butter produced by us usually contains 82% of milk fat and there are no preservatives or emulsifiers, " explains David Fajfr, director of the Madeta Planá nad Lužnicí plant for the Akademiekvality.cz web.
A great assistant for choosing butter is the quality marks on the packaging that guarantee that the product is really good. The most famous are Classic and Regional Food.
Color and consistency of butter
Butter is non-dyed and has a naturally creamy, slightly yellowish color.
"If you buy butter that is very yellow, it is very likely that it is dyed. Watch the information on the packaging, " says David Fajfr.
The consistency of butter depends on the production and water content. See the surface of the butter after removing it from the cold. Better will be harder, harder and smooth and will not stick to the packaging. Its consistency also affects how butter behaves like baking or cooking.
Species of butterfly with us
On the Czech market, it is possible to meet different types of butter. The most well-known are:
Butter or traditional butter - is a product obtained directly from milk or cream with a minimum shelf life of up to 60 days. It has a cream-milky taste and smell.
Table butter - it is made from a freezer store of butter and it will be available for sale only after a period of storage. Storage times are much longer - at cooling temperatures
(2-8 ° C) for about 3 months, for freezing (-18 ° C) to 2 years. It must be marked with the date of manufacture and should be consumed within 20 days of being taken out of the freezer. The counters usually get frozen. Contains fewer vitamins. After freezing, butter is subject to oxidation changes and gurgling more quickly.
Salted butter - previously made to prolong shelf life. In a number of Nordic countries, it is still a common market type of butter (with a salt content of 0.5-2.5%).
Salting not only affects the taste but also affects the water content and dampens the growth of microorganisms.
Spilled butter - It is produced by slowly heating the butter in a water bath at a temperature above 100 ° C, removing the water and other ingredients until it has a clear yellow fat that has a higher firing point (200-250 ° C) than the original butter (150-180 ° C) and much longer life even outside the refrigerator, where it is practically eternal. After melting, the precipitated nectar fraction is separated and the remaining water evaporates under vacuum. Buttered butter was used very often before. Now it is especially preferred as the healthiest option for frying.
How do you know butter substitutes?
You've certainly noticed products that look like butter but are not called "butter". Why? Because they can not. It is his substitutes. Typically, they have a higher proportion of water than is allowed by the standard, and so often also include so-called emulsifiers - additives that ensure "correct" consistency. However, there are also so-called "semi-butter" butter, which is characterized by a lower milk fat content, a higher water content and, therefore, lower nutritional values. It is a product with a milk fat content of at least 39% (but not more than 41%) when the substances added to this food do not serve as a complete or partial replacement of any milk component. A completely different example is mixed fats in which some milk fat has been replaced by vegetable or other animal fats.
Producers of butter substitutes, for example, designate as butter, early morning or single letters in the word "butter" replace with different symbols. They are trying to lure consumers for cheaper and less quality products, but they definitely are not . Very often, we also encounter products that bear the name "with a butter flavor". "
How do you know the defects of butter?
"The taste of butter is largely influenced by the type of feeding of dairy cows, which can be of poor quality and harm the milk. It also has the influence of eg improper wear of the production equipment (metallic taste). Last but not least, the taste of butter affects the quality of milk itself. If the milk is of less quality, then the butter may have a bitter, dull, to a bloody taste, " says the expert.
If the butter has a yellow color on the surface and it smells unpleasantly, it can be a melted butter that can not be sold. Droplet or oxidation of milk fat tells us the tingling taste and the unpleasant smell you feel when you touch it.
Benefits of butter
Butter naturally contains carotenes and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). The body delivers saturated fatty acids, which are very digestible and favorably affect the intestinal environment. Those of butter are not stored in fat stores, but they are primarily used to gain energy.
"Remember that after a meal with butter, the feeling of saturation lasts a lot longer than any ingestion of any substitutes. Saturated fats are an important part of brain cell membranes, and cholesterol is an essential ingredient for the production of steroid and sex cells, bile acids and vitamin D, which is needed for strong and healthy bones, " adds David Fajfr.
More interesting information not only about butter can be found on the Quality Academy website.
Source: tz