Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Milkfat -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.

Composition

The fatty acids of butterfat are typically composed as follows (by mass fraction):^[1]

• Saturated fatty acids:
  • Palmitic acid: 31%
  • Myristic acid: 12%
  • Stearic acid: 11%
  • Lower (at most 12 carbon atoms) saturated fatty acids: 11%
• Unsaturated fatty acids:
  • Oleic acid: 24%
  • Palmitoleic acid: 4%
  • Linoleic acid: 3%
  • Linolenic acid: 1%

U.S. Standards

In the U.S., there are standards federal standards^[2] for butterfat content of dairy products.^[3] Commercial products generally contain the minimum legal amount of fat.

• Milks
  • skim milk contains less than 0.5% fat, typically 0.1%
  • lowfat milk contains between 0.5–2% fat; 1% and 2% varieties are widely marketed
  • whole milk contains at least 3.25% fat
• Cheeses
  • dry curd and nonfat cottage cheese contain less than 0.5% fat
  • cottage cheese contains at least 4% fat
  • lowfat cottage cheese contains 0.5–2% fat
  • cheddar cheese contains at least 50% fat relative to the total solids
  • Swiss cheese contains at least 43% fat relative to the total solids
• Frozen desserts
  • ice cream contains at least 10% fat
  • lowfat ice cream, also called ice milk, contains not more than 2.6% fat
  • sherbet contains 1–2% fat

• Creams
  • half and half contains 10.5–18% fat
  • light cream and sour cream contain 18–30% fat
  • light whipping cream (often called simply "whipping cream") contains 30–36% fat
  • heavy cream contains a minimum of 36% fat
  • manufacturer's cream (not federally regulated) contains 40% fat
• Butter (including whipped butter) contains at least 80% fat

See also

• Milk
• Fat content of milk
• Milk bottle top

References

1. ^ National Research Council, 1976, Fat Content and Composition of Animal Products, Printing and Publishing Office, National Academy of Science, Washington, D.C., ISBN 0-309-02440-4; p. 203, online edition
2. ^ [1] ams.usda.gov.
3. ^ [2]^{dead link}

This food ingredient-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 20 August 2008, at 18:14.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Milkfat".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Milkfat

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.