Of Butter, Shepherds & Butter’s Eaters!

Butter, we all know it, we all use it, but did you ever wonder where it comes from?

First thing first, the word butter comes from the Greek, was then Latinised and with a little detour through Germanic languages, made it to what it is today. But surely butter didn’t just appear magically on Socrates’ table one day, so how did we go from milk to butter?

Let me introduce you to Elaine Khosrova, the author of “Butter: A Rich History” (yes, there is a book on the history of butter!), who wrote that butter originated in ancient Africa, circa 8,000 BCE when a herder making a journey with a sheepskin container of milk strapped to the back of one of his sheep found that the warm sheep’s milk, jostled in travel, had curdled into something remarkably tasty. Sometimes discoveries are made somewhat randomly!

Residues of milk fats were discovered on pottery found in Northwest Turkey, dating back to 6,500 BCE, and a Sumerian tablet dated to 2,500 BCE, describes the butter making process, from the milking of cattle, and contemporary Sumerian tablets identify butter as a ritual offering.

Therefore, human beings have been eating butter for possibly 10,000 years! Somewhat mind blowing.

Records of butter consumption can be found in Roman and Arabian sources. I am therefore going to blame the Roman for the spread of the practice, and before you ask, I have no proof to substantiate that claim!

The same sources indicate that while butter was known in the Mediterranean area, people tended to use oil rather than butter (I guess hot climate and butter do not mix so well!). The opposite was true for the tribes of Northern Europe, so much so that they were referred to (at least by one Greek poet) as “butter-eaters” (a definite sign of barbarism it seems!).

Until the 1600s, butter consumption was banned during Lent (Christian religious practice where you deprive yourself from a certain number of foods to commemorate the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert). The Catholic church, with their fine business acumen, saw an opportunity and authorised the clergy to grant dispensation to wealthy people in exchange for some contribution to the church’s funds. The Cardinal Georges d'Amboise used the money he collected to partially fund the built of the new tower of the Cathedral of Rouen, at the end of the 15th century. That tower is still known nowadays as the Cathedral’s Tour de Beurre (or Butter Tower).

Alright, alright, enough about history! So, will you ask, how do you make butter?

You can check the online tutorials, as making butter is pretty straightforward and does not require a lot of equipment. The one thing to understand is that unhomogenized milk and cream contain butterfat in microscopic globules, that are surrounded by membranes. In order to make butter you have to break those membranes so that the fat (in the form of small butter grains) is separated from the other parts of the cream (a water-based liquid known as buttermilk). You then drain the liquid and work on shaping the little grains into whichever shape you want (yes, even a unicorn shape if this takes your fancy!).

Modern butter recipes use heavy cream. However, historically, the process used with raw milk. This technique is mostly used with homemade butter these days, as unpasteurised milk products are illegal to sell in some countries.

One would think, that starting with one ingredient, whether it be milk or cream, you would always get the same product with some variations based on the condiments you might add. Well, you would be wrong my friend.

Cultured Butter: cream collected from several milkings, which meant it had time to ferment for several days before being used; this was the most common butter before the apparition of modern-day factories. It is the butter preferred throughout continental Europe today.
Sweet Cream Butter: made from fresh cream (no fermentation). It became common in the 19th century with the industrialization and the development of refrigeration. It had a big financial advantage as sweet cream butter can be made in 6 hours, whereas cultured butter can take up to 72 hours to make. It is the butter that dominates in the United States and United Kingdom.
Clarified Butter: made by heating butter to its melting point and then allowing it to cool; after settling, the remaining components separate by density, allowing for most its water and milk solids removed, leaving almost-pure butterfat.
Ghee: clarified butter that has been heated to around 120 °C (250 °F) after the water evaporated, turning the milk solids brown. This process protects the butter from rancidity, and its shelf life is six to eight months under normal conditions.
Whey Butter: cream is separated (usually by a centrifuge or a sedimentation) from whey (liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained, a byproduct of cheese making) instead of milk.

Let’s finish with few random facts:

The oldest known butter-making technique is still in use today and can be found in Syria, where farmers skin a goat, tie the hide up tight, then fill it with milk and begin shaking.
In antiquity butter was not only made for consumption but was also used for fuel in lamps, as a substitute for oil.
The buttermilk liquid produced from butter making is different from the buttermilk we buy in store, which is usually directly fermented skimmed milk.
French butter requires a minimum of 82% butterfat (versus 80% in the United States), and the fact the cream used is usually from grass-fed cows, account for the French richer tasting and flakier pastry.
Commercial butter is about 80% butterfat and 15% water while traditionally made butter may have as little as 65% fat and 30% water.

If you think about it, the more you try to understand the origin of things, the more complex life becomes!

I am hoping that after reading this article, you will never again butter your toast without a thought for what it is you are about to ingest and the fact you are partaking in a very old human tradition!

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