How to determine the quality of butter

Butter belongs to the most valuable dairy products. The composition includes vitamins of many groups, complex carbohydrates, protein, minerals, fats. Thanks to calcium, zinc, sodium, phosphorus, iron and many other enzymes, the condition of hair, skin and nails is improved. The butter is made by whipping cream made from cow's milk.

How to choose high-quality butter

Unscrupulous manufacturers add preservatives, forcing consumers to doubt the quality of the product. Consider the important aspects that should be paid attention to when buying a product.

Title

1. Rate the packaging. High-quality briquettes are marked, for example, "peasant oil", "homemade oil", traditional oil ", etc.
2. If you do not find the word "oil", then the product is unnatural.According to the current legislation the structure is not oil. Simply put, it is a surrogate, analogue, falsification, spread.
3. Spread is a composition made from vegetable fats. The percentage of acids in such a product is less than in real butter.
4. Some types of spread do not contain fats at all, for example, pure margarine. These products do not bear the use, but the taste is not inferior to butter. Buy a cheap equivalent or not, you decide.
5. It is important to pay attention to the packaging of butter. If there are deformed areas on it, most likely the product has been defrosted several times. Quality butter wrapped in foil or thick parchment paper that prevents oxidation.

Composition

1. To buy quality oil, study the composition. It should contain the following components: whole milk, cream. This aspect means that the oil is natural, without artificial fats.
2. Spread (translated from English - soft, stretching) can be creamy-vegetable and vegetable-creamy. As can be understood from the name, the number of the first component in the list prevails over the volume of the second.
3. Spreads include at least 38% vegetable fat, so the oil is soft.It does not freeze completely in the refrigerator, as does a natural product based on cream and milk.
4. Of course, real oil costs more. However, many cheap spreads include beneficial vitamins, phytosterols and other enzymes that have a good effect on health.

date of manufacture

1. Estimate the cost of goods, the price policy of the quality of butter varies in the range of 120-150 rubles per 100 grams. If the cost is too low, it makes sense to look at the production time.
2. Often, the marketing of supermarkets contributes to lower prices for goods whose expiration date is expiring. Do not buy this butter, because it accumulates harmful bacteria, oxidizes, becomes unfit for consumption. Simply put, the product is not beneficial at all, even if it is natural.
3. If we talk about shelf life prescribed in GOST, the oil can last 30 days from the date of production. This figure is considered averaged. It is necessary to take into account the storage conditions, which shops often violate. Do not buy oil that has lain longer than a month on the counter.
4. Imported manufacturers increase the storage time up to six months, this deviation is normal. In such cases, the product can be taken with an exposure in the store for about 2 months.Imported oils contain preservatives that increase shelf life.

Fat percentage

1. To buy high-quality oil, give preference to products with a fat content of 72%. This indicator indicates that the composition is made on the basis of whole milk with cream. In our country there are several types of oil, which differ in the percentage ratio of fat content.
2. The most popular is considered “traditional” (82%), followed by “amateur” (80%), followed by “peasant (72%), sandwich-making (62%), tea (50–52%). The last 2 types do not belong to natural, they are dominated by vegetable fats, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers and dyes, flavored additives.
3. Traditional, amateur, peasant oils are made from pasteurized cream. Such formulations are often referred to as “sweet and sour butter”. If the product is made with the addition of yeast, you will see the inscription "sour cream". The latter is more nutritious and healthy. The product can be salty and unsalted.

Compliance with GOST

1. There is a basic GOST, it is listed as 37-91. According to the legislation, the oil that meets the prescribed requirements is of the highest or first grade.In our country, there are other options for GOST, but they do not cancel the interpretation of the main, but only complement its range.
2. Now attention! Some manufacturers of the spread put on the label marked GOST R 52100-2003. This does not mean that the oil is natural. The analogue with vegetable fats simply does not contain genetically modified components.
3. Manufacturers of poor quality products specifically write the word "GOST" to inspire customer confidence. It is also often possible to read that the composition is dietary, creamy, light, etc. However, all these qualities are achieved by flavor enhancers, flavors, emulsifiers.
4. To get the maximum benefit from butter, choose a product with a mark according to GOST 37-91. This composition contributes to the enhancement of vision, improvement of the condition of hair, skin, nails. Butter “by standard” contains only milk fat obtained by whipping cream and milk.
5. Oil according to GOST is the highest and first grade. The highest option is preferable, it is suitable for all organoleptic indicators. That is, it corresponds to the stated taste, texture, aroma, packaging, etc.The highest grade gains 17 balls from 20, the first - 11-15 balls.

How to determine the quality of butter

1. After you open the product, you will notice that a light scurf appeared on the oil. Its shade varies from dark to light yellow. This phenomenon is called shtaffom, it is considered the norm. The scorch is easy to scrape off with a knife.
2. Next, you need to visually assess the bar. If the color is dominated by a rich yellow pigment, the oil contains beta-carotene (a dye). Quality product is also not whitish.
3. Butter should be beige (not white!) With a slight tinge of yellow. This indicates a sufficient fat content. When cut, the product is dry, shiny. Benign composition pleasant to the taste, without bitterness.
4. As mentioned earlier, stores do not always comply with the storage conditions. So, if the oil was kept in the light or at a temperature above +3 degrees, damage is inevitable.
5. Oxygen contributes to oxidation, as a result of which ketones, aldehydes and keto acids, which are harmful to humans, begin to form. A similar situation is observed in cases where the expiration date expires.

Checking butter for impurities

Unscrupulous manufacturers stuff their products with hydrogenated fats or replace them with dairy fats. The store does not distinguish falsification, so you have to rely on your sense of smell and taste buds at home.

Another option is a fake - butter supply with cheese or cottage cheese, which is also wrong. As we said earlier, the natural composition is made from cream and milk.

Method number 1. Tasting

1. Cut a slice of butter, taste it. You should not feel the bitterness, meat, fish products. A good oil has a sweet taste with a bit of salt.
2. If you bought the composition with a note sour-sweet, the oil should be, respectively, salty (moderately). A quality product literally melts in the language, which cannot be said about the spread.

Method number 2. Mixing with boiling water

1. Pour 200 ml into a clear glass. hot water, dip a piece of butter in the liquid. Begin to stir vigorously until dissolved.
2. Wait a while, the water should cool down. Rate the result. High-quality oil does not break up "flakes"it is evenly mixed with water and does not precipitate.

Method number 3. Freezing

1. Cut a slice of butter from the middle of the briquette, put in the freezer for 1 hour. If the composition is made on the basis of milk and cream, it will harden.
2. Take a knife, try to cut a slice. If the oil will crumble, crack, break (that is, a smooth cut is not observed), you have bought a good product.
3. Falsified formulations cannot be frozen because they contain vegetable fats in large quantities. They do not harden even in the freezer.

Method number 4. Defrosting

1. Without cutting off a piece, leave the butter in the half-open pack at room temperature. Lose a situation in which you allegedly forgot to put the product in the fridge.
2. After 1.5-2 hours, evaluate the result. If water droplets appear on the surface of the briquette, the oil is not natural. This product will only soften slightly and become viscous, but moisture will not come out of it.

Before purchasing, inspect the packaging, it should be made of thick parchment or foil. A good product is produced with the mark "oil", it also complies with GOST 37-91.Examine the composition, pay attention to the fat content, production date, shelf life. Determine the quality by freezing, thawing, tasting.

Video: how to check the quality of butter at home