An extruded butter stick product includes a plurality of pre-defined portions successively connected lengthwise to an adjacent portion by a connecting bridge, each bridge comprising a height that is at least 15% and up to 50% of the total height of the butter stick. Sidewalls of the successively connected portions define at least one trough leading to the bridge. Sidewalls may provide a surface for gripping one of the portions, and a bridge may define a fulcrum for breaking a portion from the butter stick such that each portion of the butter stick can be individually separated from the butter stick at the bridge. Alternatively, sidewalls and the connecting bridge may provide a guide for cutting the pre-defined portions. The butter sticks may be produced by an extruder and/or an extruder die defining an aperture with teeth for defining the troughs and connecting bridges in the butter stick.

Stackable infusion filtration and storage systems are described herein. Components of the systems may include a first container, a second container, and a cooperating third container. The stackable systems may further include a sleeve component and one or more lids. The stackable systems can concurrently capture liquid as the liquid separates from an infused butter mixture and solidify butter in separate cooperating stackable containers. Methods of use are also described.

Improving the balance of beneficial gut microbiota of an animal by providing a composition containing beta-casein, wherein at least 75% by weight of the beta-casein is a beta-casein variant that has a proline at position 67 of the beta-casein amino acid sequence.

Improving the balance of beneficial gut microbiota of an animal by providing a composition containing beta-casein, wherein at least 75% by weight of the beta-casein is a beta-casein variant that has a proline at position 67 of the beta-casein amino acid sequence.

Improved methods for preparing functional food ingredients comprising plant protein, the resulting enhanced functional food ingredients, and foods containing the same. The methods comprise providing a mixture or slurry of plant protein in an aqueous solution, reacting the plant protein with a modification agent selected from the group consisting of an acylating agent, transglutaminase, and protein glutaminase to yield a modified plant protein, and conjugating the modified plant protein with a hydrophilic polysaccharide to yield the functional food ingredient with synergistic improvements in properties.

Improving the balance of beneficial gut microbiota of an animal by providing a composition containing beta-casein, wherein at least 75% by weight of the beta-casein is a beta-casein variant that has a proline at position 67 of the beta-casein amino acid sequence.

Improving the balance of beneficial gut microbiota of an animal by providing a composition containing beta-casein, wherein at least 75% by weight of the beta-casein is a beta-casein variant that has a proline at position 67 of the beta-casein amino acid sequence.

Industrial butter with increased hardness is suggested, obtainable or obtained by (a) separating raw milk into a skimmed milk fraction and a cream fraction; (b) while adding water, separating the cream fraction of step (a) into a milk phase and an aqueous protein-lactose phase; (c) adding hard fat to the milk phase of step (b), and homogenising it; and (d) cooling the homogenised mass while shearing.

Industrial butter with increased hardness is suggested, obtainable or obtained by (a) separating raw milk into a skimmed milk fraction and a cream fraction; (b) while adding water, separating the cream fraction of step (a) into a milk phase and an aqueous protein-lactose phase; (c) adding hard fat to the milk phase of step (b), and homogenising it; and (d) cooling the homogenised mass while shearing.

A system and method for the continuous production of brown butter involves concentrating butter while retaining solids non-fat in the butter, and continuously transferring and heating the concentrated butter to cause the solids non-fat in the butter to react in a maillard reaction to form a brown butter product. The system may use one or more of a heating vessel, an evaporator and a reaction vessel to form the brown butter in the continuous process. A brown butter product derived from butter includes reacted solids non-fat particulates from a maillard reaction suspended by nascent fat crystals nucleated about the reacted solids non-fat particulates and by large fat crystal structures joined to the nascent fat crystals.