Butter is known for its pale-yellow color which is somewhat similar to egg yolk. However, does butter actually contain eggs? You will find the answer below including a discussion on how butter gets its color. Let’s get into the information!
Eggs In Butter?
No, butter does not have eggs. It is simply made with cream and often salt for flavor.
It is made by churning cream until the butter fat in the cream is separated from the liquid known as buttermilk. The buttermilk is drained leaving the semi-solid grains of butter. The grains are then rinsed in water and molded into the desired butter shape. Salt is also added when applicable.
While butter has a color somewhat similar to egg yolk, its color comes from the diet of cows and not from the addition of eggs to butter. Specifically, butter gets its yellow color from the beta-carotene found in the plants that cows eat. The beta-carotene is stored in the cow’s fat which transfers into the milk fat that the cow produces.
To provide further evidence that butter does not typically have eggs, we compiled the list below of popular butter brands with their ingredients. We also indicate whether they have eggs. As the table shows, none of the butter brands featured have eggs.
Butter Product | Contains Eggs (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
---|---|---|
Land O Lakes Salted Butter | No | Sweet Cream, Salt. |
Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter | No | Sweet Cream, Natural Flavoring |
Challenge Butter Salted | No | Pasteurized Cream (Milk), Salt. |
Challenge Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream (From Milk), Natural Flavorings. |
Tillamook Sea Salted Butter | No | Cream (Milk), Salt. |
Tillamook Unsalted Butter | No | Cream, Natural Flavor. |
Kerrygold Salted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Salt. |
Kerrygold Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Skimmed Milk, Cultures. |
Vermont Creamery Sea Salted Butter | No | Cream, Sea Salt, Cultures. |
Vermont Creamery Unsalted Butter | No | Cream, Cultures. |
Organic Valley Salted Butter | No | Pasteurized Organic Sweet Cream (Milk), Salt. |
Organic Valley Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Organic Sweet Cream (Milk), Lactic Acid. |
Vital Farms Sea Salted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Sea Salt. |
Vital Farms Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream (Milk). |
Great Value Salted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Salt. |
Great Value Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Natural Flavorings. |
Kroger Salted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Salt. |
Kroger Unsalted Butter | No | Pasteurized Cream, Natural Flavorings. |
Ingredients can change at any time. Be sure to reference the product label for the most accurate ingredient information.