Optimizing Butter Optimizing Butter MakingMaking

Laura Kelley and Mohammad BiswasLaura Kelley and Mohammad Biswas

CHEN 3820 Chemical Engineering Lab 1CHEN 3820 Chemical Engineering Lab 1

April 24, 2007April 24, 2007

Buttery Facts

• Butter is made by the agitation of the cream layer from unhomogenized milk.

• Butter has been made for many centuries in the same fashion, but technological advancements have lead to faster ways to make butter.

• Our project involves making butter by varying temperature and adding co-solvents.

Background: How to Make Butter

• Milk: Basis of Butter – Milk is an emulsion of

fat globules within a water based fluid

– Milk consists mostly of water

– Fat separates from the milk to form cream layer

– This layer is more concentrated in fat than the milk

Reference: Milk Content, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk, April 22, 2007

Milk Content Analysis, per 100 grams

Background: How to Make Butter

• Churning: Means to Butter – Early period butter making

process– Collect the cream layer from the

milk – Allowed to sour over a couple of

days at room temperature– Use Butter Churn to produce

butter and buttermilk– Remove butter from buttermilk

and rinse with cold water– Add salt to butter for preservation

How We Made Butter

• Main Ingredient:– Heavy Whipping

Cream

• Methods Used:– Electric Mixer– Manual Shaking

• Agitation causes physical separation of butter and buttermilk

Stages of Butter Churning• Heavy Cream Layer

– This was obtained after separation of the milk emulsion

– Agitation begins at this stage

• Whip Cream – Stiff peaks form– This is what is purchased at

stores after adding other ingredients

Stages of Butter Churning• Transition Stage

– Butter begins to form– Appearance of the

signature pale yellow color

• Final Stage: Butter– Formation of clumps– Separation of butter and

buttermilk– Wash butter to remove

excess buttermilk for storage

Experiment 1: Different Ingredients

• Main Ingredient:– Heavy Whipping Cream

• Co-solvents Examined:– Salt– Calcium Supplements

(Calcium Sulfate)– Baking Powder– Cornstarch– Sugar

Results of Experiment 1Time it Takes For Butter to Form

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

Whipped Cream Transition Butter Forms

Tim

e (m

in)

Control

Salt

Sugar

Cornstarch

Experiment 2: Addition of Salt

• Amount of Salt for every two cups (~ 460 g) of heavy cream:

– ½ teaspoon (2.4 grams)– 1 teaspoon (4.7 grams)– 1 tablespoon (14.2 grams)– 2 tablespoons (28.5 grams)– 3 tablespoons (42.7 grams)

Results of Experiment 2 Production of Butter with Salt Concentration Varied

Amount of Salt Added

Tim

e to

Mak

e B

utt

er

Experiment 3: Temperature

• Temperature Variation:– 0oC– 10oC– Room Temperature – 30oC

• Determine the role of temperature on the formation of butter

Results of Experiment 3Temperature Changes Butter Making

Room Temperature

Am

ou

nt

of

Bu

tter

Fo

rmed

(g

)

Tim

e it

Tak

es f

or

Bu

tter

to

F

orm

Conclusions• Butter can be produced

the fastest with an ionic co-solvents

• Increasing the amount of co-solvent does not always decrease the time to make butter

• Ideal conditions to make butter is at room temperature

Questions?Questions?

References– Cooking for Engineers,

http://www.cookingforengineers.com, April 2, 2007

– Milk, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk, April 22, 2007

Now let us have some Bread and Sweet Butter