Beurre

Yellow stick of butter in tray

Butter is a pale yellow edible fat made from the churning of cream in large commercial dairies.  It may be used as a spread or as an ingredient in food preparation and cooking, at home, in restaurants and in commercial/industrial food manufacturing and bakeries.

Hygienic positive displacement pumps are essential in the processing and transferring of butter due to their ability to handle viscous products safely and efficiently while maintaining the integrity and quality of the product. These pumps operate by trapping a fixed amount of cream or butter and moving it through the pump with each rotation or cycle, ensuring a consistent flow without causing shear stress or altering the texture of the butter, even at high pressures developed by the high viscosities. Their design prioritizes sanitation and is often composed of stainless steel or other food-grade materials, minimizing contamination risks and adhering to strict hygiene standards required in food processing. Moreover, the gentle handling characteristic of positive displacement pumps prevents the butter from overheating, maintaining its natural properties and taste. This makes them an ideal choice in industries where maintaining product quality and safety is paramount.

Viking In the Process

While processes vary, generally incoming raw milk is pumped to centrifugal separators where cream is separated from skim milk. Viking pumps are used to transfer the more viscous cream from the separator to a pasteurizer to kill pathogens, where it then cooled. It is then pumped to maturation vessels where bacterial cultures may be added, and fat molecules are stabilized. This cooled aged cream is then pumped to the butter churn or centrifuge, where fat clusters form small balls of butter that separate from the liquid, which is processed into buttermilk. This very viscous butter may be pasteurized again and pumped to a kneading machine which makes the butter smooth and creamy, and is where salt may be added. Viking pumps then transfer the finished butter through chillers to packaging machines where it is discharged into tubs or extruded through dies to form sticks.

Applications

  • Milk transfer – receiver tank to separator
  • Cream transfer – separator to pasteurizer, pasteurizer to maturation tanks, maturation tanks to churn
  • Buttermilk transfer - churn to further processing
  • Butter transfer - churn to kneader, knead processing

Beurre

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