Saffron in butter

Saffron (Kesar) is the king of super foods and the most expensive spice. In terms of weight, it is even more expensive than gold and is valued since ancient times for its odoriferous, coloring and medicinal properties.

Saffron is very warm in its post digestive effect and hence, it should only be consumed in winters.

In Kashmir, saffron has a long history of being used in culinary and Kashmiri tea (Kahwa). Saffron is also widely used in confectionary, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, coloring agent for sausages, oleomargarines, dairy products such cheese, and ice-cream for color and flavor improvement.

It also has been used for a long time to color butter. Saffron butter goes well with chicken, shrimps, rice, pasta, bread. Saffron threads are used to give cakes, pastries and cookies a butter golden hue and a rich aroma.

Diabetics should drink saffron boiled in milk with a teaspoon of butter. In case of patients with weak liver, it helps to get rid of toxins.
Saffron in butter

Dairy product: Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. Conversion of milk fat into butter is a very old way of preserving milk fat.

Definition of butter: It is essentially a water-in-oil emulsion, comprising of more than 80%milk fat, but also containing water in the form of tiny droplets, perhaps some milk SNF, with or without salt. The continuous fat phase in the butter is a complex matrix of liquid butter oil and fat crystals forming a network which entraps the water droplets and to a limited extent small air bobbles.

Butter accounts for a major portion of the nutritive value of milk. Butter is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying.

Butter consists of butterfat, water, and milk proteins. Butter should have a uniform color, be dense and taste clean. The water content should be dispersed in fine droplets so that the butter looks dry. The consistency should be smooth so that the butter is easy to spread and melts readily on the tongue.

The largest butter-producing countries are the United States, Germany, France, New Zealand, and Russia. In the dairy industry today the majority of the butter is produced on continuous butter making machines using the so-called Fritz method. Initially, the milk is concentrated to cream followed by a pasteurization process.

Dairy product: Butter