Fat Rich Dairy Products

Module 10. Special butter and related products

Lesson 30
WHIPPED BUTTER, WHEY BUTTER, FLAVOURED BUTTER

30.1 Introduction

High price component of milk is milk fat, no dairy entrepreneur would like to drain or waste the fat neither directly nor indirectly from the plant. All the necessary steps would be taken to extract and / or preserve the milk fat. This accumulated or extracted fat may be used to make special kind of products like whey butter (prepared exclusively from the fat of whey). Special butter are the another class of products wherein novelty would be incorporated like whipped butter and flavoured butter.

30.2 Whipped Butter

It is regular butter whipped for easier spreading. Whipping increases the amount of air in butter and increases the volume of butter per pound. For whipping normal air or nitrogen are used. According to United States legal requirement whipped butter has to contain at least 25% butterfat. For the production of whipped butter, the butter is softening to 20 – 24°C, so that it is soft enough to work easily. At this stage colour and salt are added, then product is whipped to get the desired over-run (50 to 100%), packed and stored at refrigerated temperature. It may contain butter fat around 45 to 50%, so its caloric value is less than that of butter.

It isn’t recommended to use whipped butter in cooking, however, as it melts quite a bit faster than normal butter and often creates a foam. Additionally, whipped butter isn’t a good substitute in baking recipes, because these recipes usually give measurements in terms of volume.

Uses: Many restaurants create their own whipped butter to serve with bread or before-dinner items. In addition to easy spreadability, many people consider it supportive of healthier eating, as most people wind up eating less butterfat when they use whipped butter.

30.3 Whey Butter

This is made from whey separated from curd during the making of cheese. It is a strong tasting with a bit of a cheesy flavour in it. It can be salty tasting, if salt was added to the cheese-making process before the whey was drained off. It will be less shiny than regular butter and a deeper yellow. It may have added salt and annatto colouring, just as regular butter would. It may contain residual starter cultures from the cheese batch, and added casein.

Process

Whey cream will be prepared from three sources of whey, particularly cheese, paneer and chhana. The fat content of the whey cream should range from 40 to 45 percent. The cream should be smooth and free from lumps. After separation of cream, it should be cooled to 4 – 7°C. Then cream should be heat treated / pasteurized at 60°C for 20 minutes or at 85°C for 25 seconds. Vacreation method / plate heat exchanger can be used for pasteurization and cool quickly to 4°C. The butterfat content will end up being between 80 and 90%. In Canada, the legal definition is that it must be a minimum of 80% butterfat by weight. In Ireland, it will be 82% butterfat, 16% water, and 2% milk solids. It is popular in Sweden, where it is sold in most stores as an everyday butter called " mess-smor". In other parts of the world, whey Butter is used commercially in baked goods and in making candies. Whey butter had the softest texture, more porous compare to regular butter.

Table 30.1 Chemical composition of whey butter, sweet cream butter and cultured cream butter

Whey butter has minimum ash content compare to others. Whey butter was less hard and more spreadable than other regular butter.

30.4 Flavoured Butter

Flavoured Butter is popular in western world to use in sandwiches and spreads. Flavourings are added to enhance the taste of the product. Natural flavourings such as dry onion powder, red chilly powder, pepper powder and ginger powder are used to flavor the product. These were mixed after butter prepared and care should be taken to minimize the contamination as these ingredients are added directly to butter after butter has been made.

Addition of Starter distillates to enhance the flavor: A mixed strain starter of Streptococcus diacetilactis and Lactococcus lactis or / Lactococcus cremoris, that accumulates high concentration of alpha -acetolactate, was grown in a skim milk or whey medium, adjusted to pH 3.5 and steam distilled. About 85% of available diacetyl was obtained when 10% of the original culture volume had been evaporated. These flavour concentrates are encapsulated through spray drying technology using maltodextrin and other carriesr and made it into granules to use as flavour enhancer. Butter made by adding 0.07-0.14% distillate (containing approx. 2000 mg diacetyl/kg) during working is comparable with cultured butter in terms of flavour.

30.5 Natural Butter Flavors

Technology has been developed for the production of flavor systems via controlled enzyme modification of milk fats. Lipases and esterases from various sources are used. Methods for producing a variety of fairly pure enzymes, economically and in large quantities has been established. These enzymes are used to enhance the butter favour substance using butter as substrate. These lipases (glycerol ester hydrolases) from microbial sources have made it possible for researchers to employ the catalytic properties of these enzymes in innovative ways. One application in which the use of lipases has become well established is the production of lipolyzed flavors from feedstocks of natural origin. Immobilization of lipases on hydrophobic supports has the potential to (1) preserve, and in some cases enhance, the activity of lipases over their free counterparts; (2) increase their thermal stability; (3) avoid contamination of the lipase modified product with residual activity; (4) increase system productivity per unit of lipase employed; and (5) permit the development of continuous processes. As the affinity of lipases for hydrophobic interfaces constitutes an essential element of the mechanism by which these enzymes act, a promising reactor configuration for the use of immobilized lipases consists of a bundle of hollow fibers made from a microporous hydrophobic polymer.

These enzymes (lipases, lactases and proteinases) are used in optimum combination to act on substrate under controlled conditions. This treatment increases the flavour components or volatile substance which is highly desirable. Along with volatile flavour components, fatty acids such as butyric, caproic, caprylic and capric acids in much greater molar concentration. Later on, this reaction is arrested using proper treatment thereby avoiding off-flavour development and oxidized flavour development.

These products are used as flavouring ingredient to enrich the non-dairy products like biscuit, non dairy topping, sauses and savoury products. After arresting enzymatic action product is spray dried to extend the shelf life of the product.