Butterfat

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Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.

1 Composition
2 U.S. Standards
3 See Also
4 References

[edit] Composition

The fatty acids of butterfat are typically composed as follows (by mass fraction):^[1]

Saturated fatty acids:
- Palmitic acid: 31%
- Myristic acid: 12%
- Stearic acid: 11%
- Lower (at most 12 carbon atoms) saturated fatty acids: 11%
Unsaturated fatty acids:
- Oleic acid: 24%
- Palmitoleic acid: 4%
- Linoleic acid: 3%
- Linolenic acid: 1%

[edit] U.S. Standards

In the U.S., there are federal standards for butterfat content of dairy products.[1] Commercial products generally contain the minimum legal amount of fat.

Milks
- skim milk contains less than 0.5% fat, typically 0.1%
- lowfat milk contains between 0.5–2% fat; 1% and 2% varieties are widely marketed
- whole milk contains at least 3.25% fat
Cheeses
- dry curd and nonfat cottage cheese contain less than 0.5% fat
- cottage cheese contains at least 4% fat
- lowfat cottage cheese contains 0.5–2% fat
- cheddar cheese contains at least 50% fat relative to the total solids
- Swiss cheese contains at least 43% fat relative to the total solids
Frozen desserts
- ice cream contains at least 10% fat
- lowfat ice cream, also called ice milk, contains not more than 2.6% fat
- sherbet contains 1–2% fat

Creams
- half and half contains 10.5–18% fat
- light cream and sour cream contain 18–30% fat
- light whipping cream (often called simply "whipping cream") contains 30–36% fat
- heavy cream contains a minimum of 36% fat
- manufacturer's cream (not federally regulated) contains 40% fat
Butter (including whipped butter) contains at least 80% fat

[edit] See Also

[edit] References

^ National Research Council, 1976, Fat Content and Composition of Animal Products, Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Science, Washington, D.C., ISBN 0-309-02440-4; p. 203, online edition