Kerry dePenaloza
Prof. Leake
Writ 1133
6 May 2013
Butter
Butter is something that is used in everyday life. Butter is mot often used in the kitchen to
assist with cooking. Butter even has
many uses that do not relate to cooking at all.
Butter is something that I use in my everyday life whether I know it or
not. Butter is something that many
people take for granted and some do not even know the story behind butter.
Butter is a dairy product that is made from fermented cream or
milk. This fermented creak or milk is
churned and eventually it turns into butter.
It is used as a spread, in cooking, baking, sauce making, and
pan-frying. Now a days butter is made primarily
from cows’ milk. However, it has been
made from goat’s milk or sheep’s milk.
Butter is a mass produced product and is in every grocery store around
the country. In the United States alone,
“butter made annually in somewhat exceeds 1,500,000,000 pounds and requires the
mile from about 10,000,000 cows.” (WLM 25).
It is clear that butter has a very large demand in the United
States. With so many different uses for
butter in everyday life, there is no surprise that butter is so popular.
The cows that are used to mass-produce butter in the United States live
in over 4,000,000 different farms across the country. In Williamson’s article, he says, “the total
value of the annual output of butter is nearly $300,000,000, which is a litter
more than 5 per cent of all the agricultural products of the United
States.” The production of butter has
grown immensely over the years, and clearly seems to be a very profitable
industry. Compared to other forms of
agricultural industries, which are in at least every state in the United
States, butter is only produced in seven states across the nation.
Of all the butter that is produced, some may think that there is only
one type. The USDA has created three
different classes for the types of butter.
The three classes from best to worst are U.S. Grade AA, U.S. Grade A,
and U.S. Grade B. The grades that are
given are based off topics such as the flavor, the texture, what kind of cream
or milk it is made from, and whether or not it contains any unwanted or
undesirable flavors. The grades are
given on a point scale where AA is a 93 out of 100, A is a 92 out of 100, and B
is less than a 90 out of 100. (USDA)
Butter has been around for years.
Butter has been traced back to before the Middle Ages. The creation of butter has certainly changed
over time. An anonymous writer for the Columbia Daily Tribune wrote about the
earliest production of butter saying, “butter was made as far back as 2,000
years before Christ. It is mentioned in
the Bible and was used as a valuable item for barter in ancient times.” The back-story behind butter is something
more people should read about. Clearly
butter had a more significant value in the past, more so than it does
today. Today it is merely an aspect of
everyday life.
The process of making butter has changed significantly over the
years. The earliest form of production
was by the use of a churn from the skin of a goat. The author of “Lets Talk Antiques” writes
about the early production of butter, stating, “the hide was swen shut, leaving
only an opening at the narrowest part of the skin where the ankle would have
been. These skins were then tied onto a
pole a and swung back and forth until the butter formed.” This process is obviously out of date, but it
just goes to show how long butter has been a part of life. Butter is mass-produced by factories across
the United States.
Through my research I have learned a
lot more about butter. The history
behind butter is very interesting as well as the mass production of the
product. I came into this topic knowing
only the cooking aspect of butter, but now I know that story behind it and the
work that goes into mass-producing this product. The knowledge that I have gained from
researching butter will certainly make me think about butter differently. I will not look upon it negatively, I will,
however, look upon it with pride saying I know the work that was needed to make
it. Also, knowing the history behind it
will make eating butter seem all the better.
It will almost be like a connection with the past knowing that so many
people have eaten butter over the past thousands of years.
Works Cited
Anonymous. "Let's Talk
Antiques." Columbia Daily Tribune. Jan 15 2009. ProQuest. Web.
7 May 2013.
< http://0-search.proquest.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/docview/379344124>
USDA, United States Standards
for Grades of Butter. United States Department of Agriculture. Web. 7 May
2013. <http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV30asdf04470>.
W, L. M. "Butter Production." Southern
Cultivator (1843-1906) Jun 15 1906: 25-. ProQuest. Web. 7 May 2013.
<http://0-search.proquest.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/docview/138017159>
1.Summarize main points. What food is researched, and what elements of its production and/or history are reviewed?
ReplyDelete- Butter was researched- Kerry discussed the process of how butter was made in the past, its history, and the variations of butter today.
2.What research is used and how effectively is it quoted and incorporated in the essay?
- He quoted Williamson’s article and an anonymous writer for the Columbia Daily Tribune and used the USDA for a source, too.
3.How is the author’s relationship with that food implicated or affect in the essay?
- Kerry explained that butter is a part of his everyday life, and now that he is more knowledgeable about butter, he will feel a connection with it due to butter’s long history.
4.What other comments or suggestions for revision do you have?
- There were a few spelling/grammatical errors that need to be fixed. I would change up the wording a little bit in the intro (“butter is something…”)
1. Kerry researched butter, and he talks about the large role of butter production and some historical connections. He starts with the different variations of butter, such as goat, cow, sheep, etc., and moves into the economic size of the industry. From there, he moves into the historical context of butter, and how it has been used throughout history in many cultures.
ReplyDelete2. He uses his research as support for his facts, as well as providing specific instances of the history of butter, from its production such as the skin on a stick, to the mention of butter int he Bible.
3. He begins the essay describing how the butter is a huge component of everyday life, and often goes unnoticed. He concludes the essay by saying that it will not really affect the way he approaches butter, but he will take pride knowing exactly how the butter is produced, and the strong history surrounding it.
4. This was an interesting read! I never really thought of butter's large impact over time, but it certainly seems to have been really important over time. I would say to just go over your essay once you finish writing, to pick up on some of the typos (such as mot instead of most in the first sentence, and litter instead of little later on). Good essay though!
1. Butter was the main topic, you went through the history of butter, how long it has been around and how important it is. You also explained how it is classified today.
ReplyDelete2. The USDA was used to back up the argument, as well as the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Southern Cultivator. It was all incorporated fairly well within the essay.
3. You said that butter is everywhere and that you use it more than you think, as well as knowing the cooking uses of it.
4. Mainly spelling/grammar issues. Like Hayden said, you used the word butter a lot in the intro. Not sure if there was something you wanted to do with that or not..
1. The essay was about the history, production, and uses of butter.
ReplyDelete2. The research included a couple outside articles as well as the USDA, which was a good source to use because it is so reputable.
3.The author's relationship is that the food is used so often and people do not even realize it.
4. Just read over your essay again and fix some minor grammar and spelling mistakes. It also may help to vary the sentence structure more in your into.