Effect of cream aging temperature and agitation on butter properties

Aging of cream is an important process to manage production time and to produce butter with consistent quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of temperature (5, 10, and 15°C) and agitation rate (0, 40, and 240 rpm) during aging of cream on the physical properties of cream and butter in a model system. Cream's solid fat content (SFC), melting behavior, and droplet size distribution were measured during and after 90 min of aging. Butter physical properties such as melting behavior, water content, and hardness were measured. The effects of agitation on SFC and droplet size are dependent on aging and churning temperature. Solid fat content increased faster at 5°C, and the maximum SFC was the highest at this temperature. An effect of agitation on SFC was observed only when cream was aged at 15°C. Agitating cream at 40 rpm increased the droplet size regardless of aging temperature. Two melting peaks, medium melting fraction (MMF) and high melting fraction (HMF), were found in cream samples aged at 5 and 10°C, but only a HMF melting peak was seen in the cream aged at 15°C. The enthalpy of MMF in the cream aged at 10°C with 40 rpm and without agitation was significantly lower than that in samples aged at 5°C regardless of agitation rate. Butter can be formed only from cream aged under certain conditions during 14.5 min of churning, which are 5°C with high agitation and 10°C regardless of agitation level. Butter produced with cream aged at 5°C with high agitation showed significantly higher MMF and total enthalpy values. However, no significant difference in enthalpy values was observed among the butter samples made from the cream aged at 10°C. Further crystallization of MMF occurred in the butter produced with cream aged at 10°C during 24 h of storage at 5°C, whereas no further crystallization occurred in the butter made with the cream aged at 5°C with high agitation. The hardest butter was obtained when cream was aged at 5°C with 240 rpm and at 10°C with 40 rpm. Softer butter was obtained when cream aged at 10°C with 240 rpm was used. This butter also had the highest water content. This study shows that butter hardness can be tailored by changing the aging conditions of the cream. Cream can be aged at higher temperature with low agitation without altering the hardness of butter. These results will help dairy producers to optimize butter making processes to obtain desired properties in the final product.