# from the udder into butter **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 20, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199 "2000-07-20T03:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/1 "2000-07-20T03:27:12Z")
what do the percentages associated with milk mean? is 2% milk actually two percent milk fat, or does it have two percent of the fat found in whole milk? thanks, jb ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/2 "2000-07-20T03:36:00Z")
Whole milk is 4%, so 2% has half the fat. I am not sure about whipping cream, or half and half. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/3 "2000-07-20T09:04:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jb\_farley \* > \*\*what do the percentages associated with milk mean? is 2% milk actually two percent milk fat, or does it have two percent of the fat found in whole milk? > thanks,jb \*\* Manda Jo answered, but I’m not sure she answered your question. After the cream is skimmed, 4% butterfat, by weight, remains in the milk. 2% milk contains half the butterfat in whole milk. 1% obviously contains 25% of the butterfat content of whole milk and skim milk is fat free. The answer is: 2% milk IS actually 2% butterfat. It has HALF the butterfat content of whole milk. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Thing\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_1)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/4 "2000-07-20T15:23:03Z")
Actually, whole milk has less than 4% milk fat. The USDA requires that whole milk contain a minimum of 3.25% milk fat and 8.25% milk solids. But other than that small nit, MandaJO and tcburnett are right. John ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/5 "2000-07-20T16:28:11Z")
The whole milk you buy in the store has (almost always) 3.25% butterfat, the minimum set by law. However, straight from the cow, milk usually has more butterfat than that. Jersey and Guernsey cows usually have about 5% butterfat in their milk, Holsteins maybe 3.5-4% It depends on diet and breeding. Any butterfat above and beyond the 3.25% benchmark is removed before it is sold as whole milk. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/6 "2000-07-21T01:46:04Z")
Judging by the calorie/fat content listed on the milk cartons, whole mile is usually around 3% fat, as mentioned above. Here’s a somewhat related question: If cream is what you get when you separate the fat from whole milk (leaving skim milk behind), and butter is what you get when you separate the fat out of cream (leaving buttermilk behind), then what exactly is the difference between buttermilk and skim milk? ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/7 "2000-07-21T02:30:25Z")
Buttermilk tastes more sour. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/8 "2000-07-21T05:54:56Z")
buttermilk is cultured, and (as woodthrush pointed out) is sour. kind anasty stuff, but some people like it. but i will not cast aspersions; hell, i think i’m the only one that likes WaWa eggnog. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/9 "2000-07-21T13:42:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jb\_farley \* > \*\*buttermilk is cultured, and (as woodthrush pointed out) is sour. kind anasty stuff, but some people like it. but i will not cast aspersions; hell, i think i’m the only one that likes WaWa eggnog. \*\* There are two different kinds of buttermilk: the kind that’s left over after you get butter from cream, and the kind that’s made from cultured from milk. They are said to taste similar, but I’ve only ever had the second kind, which is the only kind available in grocery stores. It’s basically very runny yoghurt. ---
**Author:** ![hedra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@hedra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hedra)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/10 "2000-07-21T17:35:12Z")
I thought whey is what you had left over when you made butter from cream. I’ve only made butter twice, in grade school (dairy farms nearby and all…) but that is what the teacher called it - whey. Buttermilk was not ‘milk left after butter’ but instead named from some other root, perhaps because of the different color (buttery color?). ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/11 "2000-07-21T18:11:55Z")
whey may infact be the name for what’s left over from churning, but i’ve only ever known it to refer to the liquid remaining after making cheese (see for instance L. M. Moffitt “What the Hell is a Toffit?”, Bantam Publishing 1972) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/12 "2000-07-21T18:22:55Z")
BTW, the proper technique for milking a cow by hand is to grab the teat, and, starting with the top finger, squeeze. Then the same with the other fingers. Now, this actually happens quickly. You don’t do it just one at a time. But the point is your hand doesn’t really move that much. You’re just squeezing it out. On TV, in movies, and in cartoons, you’ll see farmers just a-yankin’ away at them. That is not the way to do it, and is udder nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/13 "2000-07-21T18:50:23Z")
whaddya call a cow with no legs? wait for it udder destruction ``` or ``` ground beef ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/14 "2000-07-22T00:52:08Z")
Does this mean there is no Bovine Let-Down Reflex? If a cow hears a calf mooing plaintively, does it leak milk? Or, are these kind of responses purely human? I now return you to the pre-hijacked, thread, already in progress. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![funneefarmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@funneefarmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funneefarmer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2000, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/from-the-udder-into-butter/26199/15 "2000-07-22T18:42:13Z")
There is a let-down reflex but it doesn’t necessarily cause leaking. It depends on the fullness of the bag, pressure being placed on the udder. The let-down process involves letting the milk down to the teat from the udder, sometimes causing leaking especially in overly full udders. Usually though there is still some mechanical stimulation, either by your hand or a milking machine, to cause the milk to come out the end of the teat.