Butter Production with LEWA pumps

Butter production with LEWA pumps

When manufacturing different types of butter, it is very important to exactly reproduce the respective characteristics of each kind.

In order to sustain consistent quality of spreadable butter, ingredients like rapeseed oil, water, and brine are metered flexibly and fully automatically with ecoflow pumps.

That is because LEWA pumps do not only meet hygienic requirements but have an accuracy of ± 1 percent even during long running times. The exact reproduction of characteristics such as a refined salty taste is guaranteed even after yearlong use of a system.

Solution

For metering ingredients in butter production LEWA offers the following solution:

Food industry proven LEWA ecoflow or hygienic/sanitary guarantees consistent product quality of various types of butter
Due to hygienic and efficiency reasons, butter production facilities run on a highly automated level. Since LEWA pumps with their patented M9 technology are highly reliable, nearly maintenance-free, and robust, the process chain barely has to be stopped. The probability of default is extremely small.
If a diaphragm change is necessary, it can be done quickly and easily
Even during long running times, which are normal in butter production, the pumps have an accuracy of ± 1 percent
Due to combination of frequency control and electric stroke adjustment, the pumps can run automatically and flexibly over a wide adjustment range. Thanks to the multiplex technology, various metering tasks can be combined efficiently.

All materials are suitable for handling foods: e.g. in order to avoid corrosive effects of brine on seals of valves, special materials like Gylon^® are used. Furthermore, a trusted supplier delivers PTFE, the material for LEWA’s pump diaphragms. The whole production is monitored continuously by LEWA. Of course, the PTFE is compatible with biological tissues.
Minimal dead space and smooth stainless steel surfaces 316/316L (1.4401/1.4404) inside the pump facilitate CIP cleaning.

Background

How is butter produced and which kinds exist?

Butter is made from pasteurized cream. Therefore, milk is skimmed in a centrifugal separator within a few seconds. Afterwards, the cream is pasteurized and stored for about 20 hours. In the butter churn, which is comprised of a rod, a cylinder, and a kneader, the cream is beaten, and the butter is separated and kneaded. Then the butter is molded in a molding machine and packaged. In order to make 1 kg of butter, approximately 22 liters of milk are necessary. A byproduct of buttering is butter milk.

There are various types of butter:

Butter made from a fermented cream is known as cultured butter. The aroma that is created through the process gives butter a fresh and nutty taste. Sweet cream butter is made from unfermented cream. To get mild-soured butter, lactic acid is added to fresh cream butter after buttering.

All categories of butter are sold in both salted and unsalted forms. Either granular salt or strong brine are added to salted butter during processing. In addition to enhanced flavor, salt acts as a preservative. For the production of spreadable butter vegetable oil is often incorporated in butter.