How to choose butter

Butter is a classic product that is part of the recipes for a large number of dishes. Quality butter contains many micronutrients and minerals; it improves brain function, moisturizes the skin, strengthens blood vessels, and boosts immunity. Due to its high demand, butter attracts the attention of dishonest manufacturers who pass off something entirely different as a valuable product. According to expert conclusions, every second pack of butter on the store shelf is counterfeit. In this regard, an important question arises: how to avoid deception and how to correctly choose quality butter?

Butter substitutes

Butter has always been an expensive product. In the nineteenth century, only noble people with enough money could indulge in the natural product. Over time, humanity developed cheaper substitutes for butter. The first substitute was margarine made from vegetable oils. In the late twentieth century, another substitute appeared – spread, a product made from animal fats and vegetable oils. On the packaging of spreads, the term 'soft butter' is often encountered. The benefits of margarine and spread are hard to discuss.

Criteria for choosing butter

There are two grades of butter: highest and first, and there are also two categories of fat content: classic (80 – 85%) and reduced (50 – 79%). In taste, butter is divided into salted and unsalted, sweet cream and sour cream. Sweet cream butter is made from pasteurized cream, like the overwhelming majority of butter varieties, while sour cream is made from cream by adding lactic acid bacteria.

Composition

Quality butter consists only of whole cow's milk and cream. No other ingredients should be present in butter, except for some additives that make the butter taste sweet, salty, or sour. These are lactic acid bacteria, buttermilk, and salt. Creams are indicated on the packaging as 'whole milk cream' or 'pasteurized cream.'

The following components should not be present in the butter:

1. Vegetable fats. In the composition, vegetable fats are indicated as 'milk fat substitutes' or specific names such as 'palm oil,' 'coconut oil.' Thus, there should be no such ingredients in genuine butter packaging. The presence of vegetable fats can also be identified by the color of the product – instead of the characteristic light yellow color of butter, it has a nearly white color.
2. Preservatives. To understand if preservatives are present in the product, one can look at the shelf life. The maximum shelf life of real butter is one month. If the butter can be stored for a very long time, it means that it contains preservatives, which should not be present in a natural product.
3. Flavorings. Genuine butter practically has no smell.
4. Coloring agents. The presence of coloring agents can be identified by the color of the butter. Colored butter has a bright yellow color; often, this is how the manufacturer tries to pass off a spread as natural butter.

Name

Manufacturers dealing with margarine and spreads try in every possible way to mislead consumers. The packaging of a spread or margarine may state 'real butter,' although this product will have no relation to real butter. Look for packaging in stores with the names 'butter,' 'country butter,' 'amateur butter.' The fat content of butter starts from 82.2%, country butter from 72.5%, and amateur butter from 78%. Note that the word 'butter' must be written on the packaging. Do not be surprised if other adjectives are added to this word, such as 'sour cream' or 'salted' – they merely specify the characteristics of the product. Manufacturers of spreads and margarines are prohibited from using the word 'butter' in their names.

Price

True butter cannot be cheap. To obtain a kilogram of butter, twenty liters of milk must be used, so the production process is expensive, which leads to the final cost of the product. It is fair that the producer asks for at least one hundred rubles and often much more for one hundred eighty grams of real butter.

Packaging

Quality butter will be wrapped in cardboard, paper, or foil packaging that prevents the butter from absorbing foreign odors. Choose butter in foil packaging, as the product stored in paper wrapping is exposed to sunlight, which destroys vitamins. Keep in mind that the packaging should be intact, without damage.

How to check butter at home

In stores, customers have no opportunity to check the butter, as it is wrapped in packaging. It must be checked at home. First, pay attention to the color – real butter should have a light yellow tint. Frozen butter will crumble and chip, and it will melt gradually and evenly. If the product crumbles when thawed, then there are significant production violations.

A natural product is characterized by a dense structure, and its cut looks dry and shiny. If droplets appear at the cut, then what you have is a spread or margarine, although there may be isolated droplets in natural butter. Real butter has a pronounced milky taste. Vologda and village butter may have nutty notes due to the production technology. The butter may also have a sweet, salty, or sour-creamy aftertaste – this is normal.

The butter melts quickly and evenly in the mouth, while margarine melts slowly and sticks to the teeth. A piece of butter placed on a hot skillet melts quickly and evenly, without releasing water and foam. Butter submerged in a glass of boiling water will dissolve completely, while margarine will break into separate pieces.