When it comes to butter processing there is some routine that needs to be followed to produce a good butter that should be creamy and of good quality. Whether you are making salted or unsalted butter or more refined types of butter these include the cultured and flavored butter . Frontline Food Consultants and Engineers support you all through the process to enable you to produce butter products of the best quality and possibly at the same time make profits. We provide butter manufacturing solutions and food consulting solutions for butter processing and packaging. 

Other services such as Sensory Evaluation and SOP Preparation and Management enable you to launch butter products. We provide Technological Support to link strategic operations like churning, washing, and packaging as critical for generating quality butter. Thus, our special development and improvement cores are oriented on enhancing the key stages of the process, including cream separation, churning, and butter working. In order to ensure that the butter you are making, has the right texture, consistency, as well as the right shelf life.

Assistance in Regulation and Documentation includes food safety and sanitation programs; HACCP, GMP, environment impact assessments, licensing and permitting services, document preparation and control, import/export services and IP protection. 

What is Butter Processing?

Taking cream through the process of churning, washing and then working it to achieve whatever requirements of consistency and taste that is required of butter form the general process of butter processing. Butter is one of the most famous types of dairy products distinguished by its dense, buttery taste and ability to be used both in cooking and baking. Some of the characteristics include: The quality of butter will therefore be determined by such factors as the quality of cream used, churning process as well as conditions under which the butter is churned and or stored.

In order to implement the plan of the enterprise that is a facility for the processing of butter, there are several major steps identified. Primarily, it involves a mechanical separation of cream from the whole milk by using centrifuges. The cream is then pasteurized to kill off bacteria and to make it safe for consumption as well as to enhance the duration it will take before it goes bad. In the churning process, the cream is stirred until the fat globules have come together to form a separate layer from the buttermilk. At this stage, the risk of losing some of the elements and achieving an incorrect consistency is high. The butter is then washed to free it from the buttermilk which serves as a natural indicator of hygiene and improves on the shelf life of the butter. The butter is then mixed and finished to get a smooth consistency if desired salt or any other desired flavorant may be added according to the product requirement.

In a manufacturing unit, Key Quality Indicators should include cream separators, churns butter workers, and packaging machines that do not jeopardize the quality of the product thereby degrading it. 

Technologies and Process for Butter Processing

Milk and Cream Selection

  • Process: Choose fresh milk and cream for butter making.
  • Equipment: One might standardize units and pasteurizers.
  • Temperature: 70 – 74°C (158- 165°F) for pasteurization.
  • Objective: The following are the reason for using the quality control of the cream used in butter production:

Cream Separation

  • Process: The process of siphoning off cream from milk without sending it through some type of filtration process.
  • Equipment: Cream separators.
  • Objective: In order to get the cream of the required fat content for butter production.

Cream Pasteurization

  • Process: Heat treatment of cream to get rid of hazardous germs.
  • Equipment: Pasteurizers.
  • Temperature: 85-90°C (185-194°F).
  • Objective: To lock in moisture, to kill bacteria and other microorganisms that could make the cream fit only for the bin and to enhance butter’s shelf life.

Cream Ripening

  • Process: Later the cream is ripened by adding lactic acid bacteria which is not used in the case of cultured butter.
  • Equipment: Ripening tanks.
  • Temperature: 15-20°C (59-68°F).
  • Duration: 12-24 hours.
  • Objective: For the purpose of developing the quality of cultured butter where flavor and aroma define it.

Churning

  • Process: Turning milk gravitationally to produce butter and buttermilk.
  • Equipment: Butter churns also called continuous butter-making machines.
  • Objective: To incorporate into a butter and to throw out buttermilk.

Washing

  • Process: Co-washing of the butter granules to eliminate any traces of buttermilk thus improving its quality.
  • Equipment: Washing systems.
  • Objective: Butter making in order to enhance shelf life and quality of butter by disposing of buttermilk.

Kneading and Working

  • Process: You may be asked to knead and work the butter till it has a desired consistency.
  • Equipment: Butter workers – or – continuous butter machines.
  • Objective: It is leveled to be as even and as smooth, as possible.

Salting (Optional)

  • Process: The use of salt enhances the taste of the butter also for purposes of preserving the remaining portion.
  • Equipment: Salting equipment.
  • Objective: To improve taste and to avoid spoiling of butter the preservative sodium benzoate is added.

Packaging

  • Process: Place the butter inside receptacles that are sterile as well as airtight.
  • Equipment: Packaging machines.
  • Objective: To avoid contamination, on one hand, product quality and the shelf life of products can be retained by ensuring that they are protected from external factors, on the other hand.

Summary of Butter Processing

  • Milk and Cream Selection: Standardizers and pasteurizers, 160-170°F.
  • Cream Separation: Cream separators.
  • Cream Pasteurization: Pasteurizers, 85-90°C.
  • Cream Ripening: Ripening tanks: 15- 5 and 20°C, 12-24 hrs.
  • Churning: Type II – Butter churns or continuous machines.
  • Washing: Washing systems.
  • Kneading and Working: Butter workers or continuous machines.
  • Salting (Optional): Salting equipment.
  • Packaging: Sterile, airtight containers.

Butter available in the Indian market:

  • White Butter (Makhan): Originally cottage, many people are boiled without the addition of salt.
  • Cultured Butter: An ingredient acquired from the process of fermentation of cream and has a sour taste.
  • Salted Butter: In cooking and baking most commonly used.
  • Unsalted Butter: Recommended for baking and when refining the measurement of salt used in the recipe.
  • Flavored Butter: Will be spiced with herbs, spices, or garlic to elaborate a better taste.

Technologies Linked with Butter Production

  • Centrifugal Cream Separation: Effectively used to skim cream from milk.
  • Continuous Butter Machines: It is recommended that the butter production process is standardized and optimized.
  • Advanced Pasteurization Systems: Get rid of possible dangers and maintain good quality of the cream.
  • Automated Packaging Systems: Prolong the shelf life of the product as well as offer high-quality products to the consumers.