🧪 Milk fat
Also known as: butterfat
~3.5% in cow's milk.
Milk fat is the fat found in milk. Whole cow's milk usually has about 3.3–4%. It floats in milk as tiny globules. Each globule is covered with a thin skin, so the fat does not merge into one blob. If milk is left to stand, the globules rise to the top — this is how cream forms.
Milk fat is used to make cream, sour cream, butter and ghee. Butter is about 82% fat, and ghee almost 99%. The amount of fat in milk varies a lot between animals. Buffalo milk has about twice as much as cow's milk. Seal and whale milk is tens of percent fat: their young need to build up a store of warmth quickly. Fat gives milk its creamy taste and most of its calories. Vitamins A and D are dissolved in it. It also contains cholesterol.
Most milk fat is saturated fat. The WHO advises that saturated fat should make up no more than 10% of all calories in a day. The NHS recommends that adults and older children choose lower-fat milk. It still keeps the main nutrients of milk. Children under two are usually advised to have whole milk.
How it connects to milk
🧪 Milk fat ← contains ← 🥛 Milk
Links
- Where it is found
- 🧈 Butter, 🧈 Ghee, 🥛 Reindeer milk, 🥛 Cream, 🥛 Milk, 🥛 Buffalo milk, 🦭 Seal, 🐋 Whale
- What it gives
- 🧪 Calories, 🧪 Cholesterol, 🧪 Vitamin A
Frequently asked questions
How much fat is in cow's milk?
Whole milk usually has 3.3–4% fat. Shops sell milk with different fat levels, from skimmed up to 6%.
Why does fat in milk rise to the top?
Fat globules are lighter than water and float up, forming cream. In homogenized milk the globules are broken up, so it does not separate.
History
What to read next
- 🥛 Reindeer milk — One of the fattiest milks of any land animal: about three times as many calories as cow's milk.
- 🐋 Whale — The milk is thick, with 35–50% fat. The calf drinks it right in the water.