బటర్‌ఫ్యాట్: మంచి పదార్ధం లేదా చౌకగా విస్తరించేదా?

Butterfat can be read on the list of ingredients for numerous products. But what is it really? We clarify.

If you look at the ingredients of a product, you will quickly realize that today we consume a large number of ingredients that we do not even know. Additives quickly accumulate not only on finished products but also on sweets, some harmless, others less so, recognizable by unpronounceable words or E numbers.

A comparatively well-known ingredient, however, is butterfat. Hardly anyone knows what actually lies behind the word.

Butterfat = clarified butter?

Butterfat consists of 99.8 percent fat. Unlike butter, it no longer contains any protein or sugar. During production, the butter is heated until the water, milk protein, and lactose separate and can be skimmed off. Therefore, concentrated butter is usually well tolerated by people with lactose intolerance.

The fat is also called clarified butter, but should not be confused with regular lard, which is usually made from pork or goose fat. However, concentrated butter is only made from cream or butter made from cow’s milk.

Is concentrated butter healthy or harmful?

Butterfat is not harmful per se. However, like any fat, it should be consumed in moderation, especially as it is high in saturated fat.

However, it depends heavily on the quality of the original product and the production. An advantage of concentrated butter is its heat resistance. Even if it is processed at high temperatures, no carcinogenic substances are produced. In general, butterfat has a longer shelf life as solid fat and is also more heat-resistant. It is therefore particularly suitable for frying or baking. The proportion of vitamin A should not be underestimated either – nevertheless, it is and remains pure fat.

In Germany, butterfat is industrially produced and often used as a cheap extender for high-quality ingredients such as cocoa butter. It is therefore also called industrial fat and is included as a cheap alternative in many discount products instead of regular butter.