Butter, with 82% fat content, is a member of the solid fat family of dairy products. Together with low-fat and concentrated products, it accounts for 20% of the milk produced in France. The French are the world's leading butter consumers, with 8.2 kg/year/capita. Butter is a product defined by European regulations and a 1988 decree, last updated in 1997. A natural and gastronomic product, it is a must-have, as it can be eaten as is, or used in cooking, pastry-making, sauces, etc.
Butter is a product that dates back over 5,000 years. Basically, it's a traditional, natural product for everyday consumption, incorporating just two main ingredients: cream and lactic ferments, or even salt. For a long time, it was mainly found in countries where dairy farming existed. It was demonized in the 1950s, following the "cholesterol affair" orchestrated by American doctor Ancel Keys. However, butter was rehabilitated in the middle of the 2010s, and has regained its place in world gastronomy. Its manufacture requires, especially on an industrial scale, a continuous, high-volume machine, the butyrator, which alone transforms cream into butter by a process of inversion of the fat and skim milk phases.