Grassland Butter Bits
Grassland Butter Bits
Holy Cow!
Cows produce up to 64 quarts of milk a day, 14 pounds of cheese, 5 gallons of ice cream or 6 lbs. of butter.
Measuring Tip
Confused about measuring butter? Here's a good starting point: 8 Tablespoons = ½ cup = ¼ pound = 113 grams = 1 stick (standard quarters).
Health Benefits
Butter offers many health benefits, and is a great source of easily absorbable Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, antioxidants, the mineral selenium and much more.
21:1
It takes about 2.4 gallons or 21 pounds of whole milk to make a single pound of butter.
Butter Storage
Tightly wrapped butter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three weeks without loss of quality. For longer storage, keep it in the freezer for six to nine months.
65 Degrees
The ideal temperature for creaming butter in a mixer for baking is 65 degrees F.
Microwaving
Melting butter in a microwave can break down the emulsion, separating the solids from liquids.
Butter Music
For centuries, butter churners made up catchy songs to pass the time, keep a rhythm and encourage the butter to come. Here's one: "Come butter come. Come butter come. Peter stands at the gate, waiting for a buttered cake."
Perfect Butter Sauces
If a butter sauce separates while heating, whisk in a small amount of cool water to re-emulsify the mixture.
4,000 Years Old
The recorded history of butter goes back over 4,000 years (some claim 6,000!) and is cited in countless writings through the ages.
Butter in the Movies
A movie titled "Butter," starring Jennifer Garner, is scheduled for release in 2012. It is a comedy about an adopted girl with a talent for butter carving. Other movies with the same title were made in 1916, 1994 and 1998, but none actually about butter.
8.2 Million Cows
There are about 8.2 million dairy cows in the U.S.
The Butter Cow Lady
Norma "Duffy" Lyon, of Iowa, earned her title, The Butter Cow Lady, for her life-size cow sculptures made from butter. Others include Elvis Presley, Norman Rockwell's County Agent and more.
World Record!
A New Jersey Holstein holds the world's record for producing milk. In seven days, the cow gave 620.95 pounds of milk and 26.87 pounds of butter fat, which produced 34.32 pounds of butter.
Butter Power
One pound of butter contains enough food energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for over 63 hours straight.
Butterflies
One possible source of the word "butterfly" is an old myth that witches and fairies stole butter in the night, in the form of butterflies.
Frozen Butter
Butter can be frozen to keep it fresh, delicious and free from odors and foreign tastes.
Old Dutch Proverb
An old Dutch proverb says, "Eat butter first, and eat it last, and live till a hundred years be past."
A Lot of Butter!
Over 1.64 billion pounds of butter were produced in the U.S. in 2008.
Cow Breeds
The seven major breeds of dairy cows are: Holstein-Friesian, Red and White Holstein, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, Ayrshire, Jersey, and Milking Shorthorn.
The Perfect Temperature
The average body temperature of a cow is 101.5°F.
India
India is by far the worldwide leader in butter consumption at over 4 million metric tons annually. The U.S. enjoys more than 688,000 metric tons.
