Burro

Butter is obtained by collecting the cream off the top of the milk. After allowing the cream to undergo a little natural fermentation to develop flavour, it is put in a revolving container and churned until a clotted mass of the fat results, and the excess water discarded. This mass is then pressed into rectangular shapes for packaging.

Italian butter is generally unsalted and is especially flavoursome, particularly when made with Alpine milk. Butter is very much used in the making of cakes, biscuits and tarts, but is used in general cooking mainly in the North. Even there nowadays, however, it is suffering in competition with Southern olive oil for reasons of health. Butter is the dairy product with the highest fat content, at least 82%, and highly saturated.