GB676092A - Improvements in or relating to a method of processing a product containing fat - Google Patents

Abstract

A dairy product having a high milk fat content in the continuous phase is obtained from milk cream, or similar material containing milk fat in the dispersed phase by agitating the material by mechanical means at atmospheric or higher pressure to secure the uniting or coalescing of a substantial portion of the milk fat content, attempering said material to a temperature suitable for the separation hereinafter referred to either before, concurrently with or after such agitation, and subjecting the agitated and attempered material at said separation temperature to centrifugal separation to produce a separation product having a high milk fat content while the percentage of milk fat in other separated fractions of the material is substantially reduced. The process may be carried out in the apparatus claimed in Specification 676,095. The agitation step is preferably affected at a temperature of 30 DEG -90 DEG F. using a sour cream with a milk fat content between 20 and 40 per cent and an acidity of 0.2 to 1.5 per cent, which may be neutralized to less than 0.3 per cent by the addition of sodium or potassium hydroxide solutions or lime water. The agitating step may be carried out in the presence of a gas such as air, nitrogen or carbon dioxide. The separated product may be pasteurized and then reseparated to give a product having a milk fat content in excess of 95 per cent. The composition and standardizing of the final milk fat or butter may be controlled by the methods claimed in Specification 666,631.