Subject: Re: Butter?

From: [email-masked] (J Ralph Blanchfield)
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 22:04:10 GMT

Hello Les and Everyone,

On Wed, 17 Jul 1996 22:08:31 BST, Leslie Coveney
<[email-masked]> wrote:

>Butter is commonly described as an emulsion. My Oxford paperback 
>Dictionary describes an emulsion as 'a creamy liquid in which particles 
>of oil or fat are evenly distributed', which doesn't sound very 
>scientific but could well be butter!

You are quite right in saying that definition is "not very
scientific", but wrong in saying "but could well be butter". Butter is
not a liquid, nor are particles of oil or fat distributed in it. On
the contrary,  fat is the continuous phase.

An emulsion does not have to be liquid.

The definition that  you have quoted refers to an oil-in-water
emulsion.

Butter is in fact a water-in-oil emulsion.
For a useful definition applicable to food emulsions, refer to this
newsgroup's FAQ 2/3.
"Emulsion

         A term descriptive of a food or food material consisting of a
    stable blend of two or more otherwise immiscible liquids, usually
an oil and an aqueous phase, achieved by appropriate physical means
and usually with the incorporation of emulsifying and stabilising
agents."

In the case of butter, it is self-emulsifying and needs no additional
agents.

When questions arise, it always pays to check out the FAQ first. That
is what they are for.

Regards

Ralph
******************************************************************
J Ralph Blanchfield
Food Science, Food Technology & Food Law Consultant
Chair, IFST Member Relations & Services Committee
Web Editor, Institute of Food Science & Technology
IFST Web address: http://www.easynet.co.uk/ifst/ 
******************************************************************

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From: [email-masked] (J Ralph Blanchfield)
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 22:25:56 GMT

Hello All,

On Fri, 19 Jul 1996 17:35:33 GMT, [email-masked] (J Ralph
Blanchfield) apparently wrote multiple versions of "Re: Butter?"

I tried several times to post that message, and each time received a
failure signal. 

The message is still sitting in my Outbox, marked as not yet sent.

Inexplicable. But apologies to everyone.

Regards

Ralph

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From: [email-masked] (Paul King)
Date: 20 Jul 96 23:07:50 UTC

Leslie Coveney <[email-masked]> wrote:

|Butter is commonly described as an emulsion. My Oxford paperback 
|Dictionary describes an emulsion as 'a creamy liquid in which particles 
|of oil or fat are evenly distributed', which doesn't sound very 
|scientific but could well be butter!

|You must remember that butter also comprises a small amount of protein, 
|lactose and minerals. The protein inparticlar plays a part in the 
|texture of milk cream and butter. As well as the casein there is a 
|protein layer round the fat globules.

Butter is a water-in-oil emulsion. That is, water droplets suspended in oil. The
"creamy liquid" described above is closer to mayonnaise, which is an
oil-in-water emulsion - or, droplets of oil suspended in a water matrix. Of
course, that ignores the other particles in mayonnaise, but that is the broad
picture. 

Paul

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From: d0033400 (houdoux alain)
Date: 30 Jul 1996 19:38:32 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] 
says...
>
>Hi,
>this may seem a simple question but my chemistry teacher says butter is an
>emulsion. This would mean presumably that it is composed of two or more
>imiscible liquids. Is the fat in butter a liquid or a solid? I argued that
>it is not an emulsion as the fat is not a liquid (at room temp.)
>Please help resolve this dispute,
>Thanks,
>Bob
>E - Mail = [email-masked]

Hi Bob,

you and your teacher are equally right !!!

The fat in the butter as room temperature (let's say 20°C) is in fact 
partially solid and partially liquid. The fat in the butter is made of 
different kinds of fat which have melting or fusion temperature ranging from 
15 to 40 °C.

I hope I replied fully to your question if I haven't resolved the dispute.