The real reason Korean butter is white

Unlike the yellow butter commonly seen on store shelves, Korean butter is often notably white, which leads consumers to doubt its quality.

Contrary to the vague expectation that yellow butter is rich and tasty, a prevailing prejudice holds that Korean butter is bland and tasteless. This raises the question of whether white butter is actually of lower quality, and calls for verification.

When a cow grazes on fresh grass, the orange nutrient carotene in the grass is absorbed into its body and also affects its dairy products, so the cream produced takes on a slightly orange tint.

By contrast, cows raised mainly on feed lack these natural pigments, so the cream they produce is naturally white. Because Korea's small land area makes pasture grazing hard, cows are mostly raised on feed, which is why Korean butter is generally produced white.

Butter color has been shown to have no connection to its taste or quality. Korea mainly produces white butter, but because of consumer perception, some producers add natural coloring to make it yellow.

As such, many of the yellow butters sold on shelves are made by mixing in natural coloring, and this natural coloring is not harmful to the body, so it is safe to consume. Judging taste or quality by butter color alone is therefore a mistaken perception.

Continuing to shake the cream until no more sloshing sound is heard completely separates the water from the solids. The separated butter is then rinsed several times with clean water to remove impurities, finally forming a solid block of butter.

Many people hold the preconception that yellow butter will taste better, but when the flavors were actually compared, no difference could be detected.

This suggests that butter color is unrelated to taste, and that consumers' perception of yellow butter has created a mistaken prejudice about flavor. In the end, the conclusion was reached that butter's intrinsic flavor is the same regardless of color.