11.01
Butter & Milk
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Milk and Milk Products
Types of Milk
Some milk is available in raw form, but most milk products are processed to remove harmful bacteria that could make people sick. Two processes applied to milk products are pasteurization (pass-cher-i-ZAY-shun) and homogenization (huh-MAH-juh-ni-ZAY-shun):
Pasteurization: Milk is heated to kill microorganisms that cause spoilage and disease without affecting its nutritional value.
Homogenization: Milk is strained through very fine holes to break down fat and then is blended into one fluid.
Pasteurization and Homogenization
Fat Content in Milk
There are a variety of milks and it is important important to recognize that low-fat and skim milks behave differently in cooking than whole milk does. Fat brings flavor, body, and mouthfeel to a dish. If a chef reduces the fat in the milk, the ingredient will perform differently in the recipe.
Creams
Cream contains far more fat than milk. Chefs use it based primarily on its fat content, which provides richness. Creams with more than 30 percent fat are stable when whipped. They add elegance and flavor to many desserts. The heavy creams also bring richness and a silky texture to sauces and dressings.
Butter and Butter Substitutes
Different types of butter are chosen based on their flavor and consistency. The best grades of butter are either Grade AA or Grade A. Butter is most commonly used to add flavor, richness, or smoothness to a dish. Butter is made by mixing cream containing between 30 percent and 45 percent milkfat at a high speed.
The finished butter must contain at least 80 percent butterfat content. The remaining 20 percent of the butter is milk solids and water:
Sweet butter is butter made only from pasteurized fresh cream. It is typically pale yellow and may be salted or unsalted.
Cultured butter (European butter) is made from fermented cream and has a higher butterfat content and lower salt content than regular butter. While butter has traditionally been produced in sticks or blocks, spreadable butter and whipped butter are now available. Both have been chemically formulated to spread more easily
Types of Butter
Butter is available salted or unsalted. Most commercially sold butter is lightly salted. Manufacturers add salt to butter as a preservative and sometimes to enhance flavor, but butter should contain no more than 2 percent salt. Chefs often use unsalted butter in desserts and some cooking, because it gives them more precise control over the amount of salt in a dish.
Butter is good for cooking because it adds color and flavor to food. Butter for cooking is often clarified, which means either the chef or the manufacturer has heated it and removed the milk solids and water. Clarified butter is better for many cooking processes because the milk solids in whole, or unclarified, butter burn easily (the point at which an oil or fat begins to burn is called the smoke point). Clarified butter has a higher smoke point, which makes it less likely to burn when heated.
Clarifying Butter
A butter substitute is any alternative used to replace butter in a recipe. Examples include margarine, olive oils, and soy-based oils, which are all used to avoid cholesterol but not fat. (Some of these alternatives are more heart healthy than butter, but still flavorful.) Additionally, rice-based oils have less fat content and less cholesterol. Margarine is one of the most common butter substitutes, but it is a manufactured food product that often contains no milk products. Margarine is made of vegetable oils and animal fats with added flavoring, emulsifiers, colors, preservatives, and vitamins. Contrary to what many people believe, margarine is not much lower in fat than butter. At least 80 percent of margarine’s calories must come from fat. Solid margarine is the most popular form. Liquid margarine is often used in sautéing and grilling. One benefit of margarine is that it usually has a higher smoke point than butter.
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