Nutritional Profile Energy value (calories per serving): High Protein: Low Fat: High Saturated fat: High Cholesterol: High Carbohydrates: Low Fiber: None Sodium: Low (unsalted butter) High (salted butter) Major vitamin contribution: Vitamin A, vitamin D Major mineral contribution: None
About the Nutrients in This Food Butterfat is 62 percent saturated fatty acids, 35 percent monounsaturated fatty acids, and 4 percent polyunsaturated fatty acids. One tablespoon of butter has 11 g of fat, 7.1 g of saturated fat, and 31 mg cholesterol, and 1,070 IU vitamin A (46 percent of the R DA for a woman, 36 percent of the R DA for a man). The vitamin A is derived from carotenoids in plants eaten by the milk-cow.
Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food Low-cholesterol, controlled-fat diet Sodium-restricted diet (salted butter)
Buying This Food Look for: Fresh butter. Check the date on the package.
Storing This Food Store butter in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped to protect it from air and prevent it from picking up the odors of other food. Even refrigerated butter will eventually turn rancid as its fat molecules combine with oxygen to produce hydroperoxides that, in turn, break down into chemicals with an unpleasant flavor and aroma. This reaction is slowed (but not stopped) by cold. Because salt retards the combination of fats with oxygen, salted butter stays fresh longer than plain butter. (Lard, which is pork fat, must also be refrigerated. Lard has a higher proportion of unsaturated fats than the butter. Since unsaturated fats combine with oxygen more easily than saturated fats, lard becomes rancid more quickly than butter.)
Preparing This Food To measure a half-cup of butter. Pour four ounces of water into an eight-ounce measuring cup, then add butter until the water rises to the eight-ounce mark. Scoop out the butter, use as directed in recipe.
What Happens When You Cook This Food Fats are very useful in cooking. They keep foods from sticking to the pot or pan; add fla- vor; and, as they warm, transfer heat from the pan to the food. In doughs and batters, fats separate the flour’s starch granules from each other. The more closely the fat mixes with the starch, the smoother the bread or cake will be. Heat speeds the oxidation and decomposition of fats. When fats are heated, they can catch fire spontaneously without boiling first at what is called the smoke point. Butter will burn at 250°F.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food Freezing. Freezing slows the oxidation of fats more effectively than plain refrigeration; frozen butter keeps for up to nine months. Whipping. When butter is whipped, air is forced in among the fat molecules to produce a foam. As a result, the whipped butter has fewer calories per serving, though not per ounce.
Adverse Effects Associated with This Food Increased risk of heart disease. Like other foods from animals, butter contains cholesterol and saturated fats. Eating butter increases the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood and raise your risk of heart disease. To reduce the risk of heart disease, USDA /Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the amount of cholesterol in your diet to no more than 300 mg a day. The guidelines also recommend limit- ing the amount of fat you consume to no more than 30 percent of your total calories, while holding your consumption of saturated fats to no more than 10 percent of your total calories (the calories from saturated fats are counted as part of the total calories from fat). Increased risk of acid reflux. Consuming excessive amounts of fats and fatty foods loosens the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a muscular valve between the esophagus and the stomach. When food is swallowed, the valve opens to let food into the stomach, then closes tightly to keep acidic stomach contents from refluxing (flowing backwards) into the esopha- gus. If the LES does not close efficiently, the stomach contents reflux to cause heartburn, a burning sensation. Repeated reflux is a risk factor for esophageal cancer.
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