Continuous buttermaking

Historically, butter has been produced by churning chilled cream until the oil-in-water (O/W) milk fat emulsion is broken and the milk fat forms butter granules that separate from the aqueous buttermilk phase. Several continuous buttermaking processes are now available to manufacture butter (Brunner 1974 Harper and Seiberling 1976). 

Anonymous, Gold n Flow Continuous Buttermaking Method, Bulletin G-493, Cherry-Burrell Corp., Chicago, Illinois, 1954. 

The churning process is carried out batchwise in rotating butter vats or continuously since the development of continuous buttermaking machines (Fritz process Pearce, 1948). In these machines, ripened cream is mechanically treated by rotating beaters. 

The first steps in the manufacture of Bregott are pasteurization of the cream, followed by cooling and temperature treatment. The cultures are the same as those used in buttermaking. Measured quantities of cream and soybean oil are mixed in the churn or the oil is continuously injected before churning in a continuous butter machine. The byproduct is sour buttermilk. 

Butter manufacture continues to serve as the safety valve for the dairy industry. It absorbs surplus milk supply above market requirements for other dairy products. Milk not required by the demand for these products overflows into the creamery, is skimmed, and the cream is converted to butter. When the milk supply for other products runs short of their demand, milk normally intended for buttermaking is diverted into the channels where needed. Even though consumption patterns have... 

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