Dairy Ingredients for Food Processing

200 Chapter 9

Cream

Cream of the required fat content is prepared

by separating liquid whole milk into skim

milk (0.05% fat) and cream (e.g., 38% to

42% for most continuous butter makers) in a

centrifugal separator. Centrifugal separators

use the density differences between the milk

fat globules and the aqueous serum phase.

Plants may operate a cold separation proce-

dure (below 10 ° C; 50 ° F) to reduce free fat

loss into the skim milk, although a higher

separation effi ciency is achieved as tempera-

tures, and density differences, increase. Cold

separated cream contains higher quantities of

phospholipids, which improves whipping

properties.

The cream is then pasteurized in a con-

tinuous high - temperature short - time (HTST)

plate heat exchanger, normally to a higher

temperature than milk pasteurization, before

cooling to aging temperature. The minimum

pasteurization temperature/time combination

recommended is 72 ° C to 77 ° C (161.6 ° F to

Table 9.1. EC Sales descriptions of “ spreadable fats. ”

Fat content ranges Sales descriptions

Milk fat products Vegetable/animal

fat products

Mixed milk fat and

vegetable/animal fat

Equal or more than 80%

but less than 90%

Butter Margarine Blend

More than 62% but less

than 80%

Dairy spread X% Fat spread X% Blended spread X%

Equal to or more than

60% but less than or

equal to 62%

Three - quarter fat butter

Reduced fat butter

Three - quarter fat margarine

Reduced fat margarine

Three - quarter fat blend

Reduced fat blend

More than 41% but less

than 60%

Dairy spread X%

Reduced fat dairy spread

X%

Fat spread X%

Reduced fat spread X%

Blended spread X%

Reduced fat blended

spread X%

More than or equal to

39% but less than or

equal to 41%

Half - fat butter

Low - fat butter

Light butter

Half - fat margarine

Minerine

Halverine

Low - fat margarine

Light margarine

Half - fat blend

Low - fat blend

Light blend

Less than 39% Dairy spread X%

Low - fat dairy spread X%

Light dairy spread X%

Fat spread X%

Low - fat spread X%

Light - fat spread X%

Blended spread X%

Low - fat blend X%

Light blend X%

Adapted from Annex of EC Council Regulation 2991/94. Source: Fearon and Golding (2008)

• Cream aging to promote crystallization
  of milk fat using selected temperature
  regime(s)


• Emulsion destabilization and phase inver-
  sion from an oil/water cream emulsion to
  water/oil butter emulsion achieved by
  physical agitation (churning)


• Physical working of butter grains to form
  larger granules, expel buttermilk, distribute
  moisture, and create a homogeneous butter
  mass

Butter Making Technology

In recent years much of the development in
butter making technology has been in improv-
ing the effi ciency of the equipment to reduce
butterfat losses, increase buttermilk drain-
age, increase butter yield, reduce power
consumption, and ultimately improve profi t-
ability. Butter technology and manufacture
have been described by Fearon and Golding
(2008).