Foods A-Z - B is for Butter

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Butter is made from the fat and protein elements of milk or cream and is approximately 80% butterfat. It is usually made from cow's milk but can also be made from the milk of goats, sheep, buffalo and yaks. The liquid remaining after the butter has been churned is where buttermilk comes from. Butter export trade dates back to at least the 12th century in Scandinavia. Through much of the Middle Ages butter was considered a peasant food. It became more acceptable by the upper classes when the Roman Catholic Church allowed butter to be consumed during Lent in the early 1500s. During Lent oil was in short supply; so butter was even used to fuel lamps. By the 1860s butter was so in demand in France that Emperor Napoleon III offered a money prize if someone could invent an inexpensive butter substitute. A French chemist invented margarine, won the prize; and margarine helped supplement the inadequate butter supplies. There is a lot of information available about butter and its history and uses. There are even some countries that bury clarified butter in the ground and age it for months or even years. I remember my mother mixing whipping cream too long and ending up with a bowl of unsalted butter. Have you ever heard the phrase, "Everything's better with butter!"? Photo Credit: Pixabay