Butter is a healthy product. It is rich in vitamins that are necessary for good vision and bone growth, for the adrenal and thyroid glands to function. The fats in its composition contribute to the renewal of brain cells. The oil protects against gastrointestinal infections and joint calcification. Naturally, only a natural product has all the useful properties, so it is important to be able to distinguish it from counterfeits.
Instructions
Step 1
The Russian industry produces several types of natural butter. This is Vologda butter, unsalted sweet and sour butter, salted sweet and sour butter, as well as amateur and peasant butter. Natural butter is also ghee. No matter what the name of the butter released in the vastness of our homeland is, its type must be indicated on its packaging, and if it does not belong to any of the above, then this is margarine or a spread. An oil that simply says “oil” on its packaging, without qualification, could be anything but the product you are looking for.
Step 2
The fattest natural butter is ghee, it contains 99% fat and no more than 0.7% moisture. Vologda and unsalted sour cream and sweet cream oils contain at least 82.5% fat, only 1% less fat in salted sweet and sour cream butter. Unsalted butter is 78% fat. Peasant sweet cream salted butter has the lowest fat content - 71.5%. The mass fraction of fat indicated on the package must necessarily correspond to the type of oil.
Step 3
It is easiest to distinguish high-quality Vologda oil by taste and smell. Whipped from high quality pasteurized cream, it has a pronounced aroma and taste, without any extraneous notes. All other types of butter also have a creamy smell, but less pronounced. Sour cream oils should live up to their name and have a light, but noticeable sour-milk aftertaste in aroma and taste. Salty oils should taste moderately salty. Melted butter has a unique specific smell and taste of melted milk fat. Off-tastes are allowed only if the ghee is flavored.
Step 4
Vologda oil is the easiest to define in terms of consistency and appearance. It is homogeneous, dense, but plastic; on a cut, its surface is dry, but shiny. For all other oils, a small amount of single tiny droplets of moisture is acceptable. Also, their surface is not so shiny. Ghee is soft and grainy, if heated it becomes completely transparent, without the slightest sediment.
Step 5
Any natural oil does not contain air bubbles, does not split into pieces, does not crumble or stick.
Step 6
Despite the fact that some argue that real oil can only be white, a yellow tint is also allowed. It all depends on the diet of the cows, from whose milk the cream was obtained, and then the butter. Sometimes a natural dye (annatto) is added to the oil to give it an even golden yellow hue. This is done so that the consumer receives oil of the same color all year round and does not feel doubts if the product familiar to him has become lighter or yellower.
Step 7
The color of natural butter can, of course, change, but it is always uniform. There are no blotches or streaks of a lighter or darker shade.
Step 8
If you take a piece of butter from the fridge and press it with your finger, it will leave a small dent in it, but you will feel the butter itself as solid. If the oil seemed soft to you, the dimple from the finger is deep, if the oil sticks, this is a low-quality product.
