Buttergate has created a national conversation about our food supply chains. During the COVID shutdown, butter demand increased. Complaints from consumers emerged that the butter was harder than typical butter, and hypotheses emerged that the butter hardness is attributed to increased use of palm oil dietary supplements in the dairy cattle ration. There are multiple points where the butter texture can be strongly impacted, so while dietary palm oil supplementation may increase C16:0 palmitic acid content, additional points in processing, in particular post-pasteurization fat crystalization protocol, and butter working method may also contribute to butter hardness. Speeding process throughput may not produce the typical crystaline matrix, and may contribute to hardness.
