Leidaria

## Leidarian Cheese Empire

Flag of Leidaria since 1912

Leidaria's borders since 1992 (Mouzaki not shown)

**Leidaria** is a Based Nation in Northern Sonora. It is located on both sides of the Sea of GigaChad.

## History

### I.

A very long time ago, in the 800s BC, there was a city called Kalotina. It was prosperous and it was one of the two hegemons of the Bay of Paraskevi, along with Plesivo. Both Kalotina and Plesivo had built up impressive realms on either side of the Bay of Paraskevi. The sea was what had kept them from starting a massive war. The kings of Kalotina had been bullying other states and annexing them. There was peace, but it was fragile, and everyone knew that it was going to shatter. The stories say that when the king of Plesivo, Arkesilaus, visited Kalotina, the king of Kalotina, Leonteus, at first welcomed Arkesilaus and his delegates. However, when they were sleeping, Leonteus ordered that Arkesilaus and his delegates be slaughtered. All of the delegates died other than King Arkesilaus and his friend Eumelus. When Arkesilaus and Eumelus escaped Kalotina, they made their way to a port disguised as fishermen, and they sailed to Plesivo. Arkesilaus then called all his allies and vassals to go to war. Some of the commanders were Eddasalaus, Arkilaus, son of Arkesilaus, and Thersander. Arkesilaus gave them six months to prepare before they embarked for Kalotina. After those six months had passed, the armies of Plesivo embarked with almost 800 ships. A Great War was about to begin.

When the Plesivons arrived, they immediately set up a camp on the coast. They had enough food to last for a year. Most people thought that the war would end quickly, either the Plesivons would defeat to Kalotinans and enter their city, take some prisoners and leave, or the Kalotinans would drive the Plesivons into the sea. However, both Plesivons and Kalotinans heard prophecies that the war would last for ten years. Both sides were eager to disprove those rumors, so the Kalotinans rushed to the Plesivons camp. It is said that when they arrived, the Plesivons were not ready to fight yet. So Arkilaus ran out and faced the Kalotinans. He defeated all the Kalotinans who dared attacking him. This bought the Plesivons time to prepare and won the Plesivons the battle. For his bravery, Arkilaus recieved the title "Bravest of all the Plesivons". The Plesivons chased the Kalotinans all the way to the gates of their city, but the Kalotinans defeated the Plesivons under the leadership of Peilaus, Leonteus' nephew. Although they were enemies, all the Plesivons respected Peilaus. For the next seven years the Plesivons and Kalotinans fought, neither side achieving victory. In the eighth year of the war, Thersander, one of the Plesivon commanders, threatened to leave, as most of the soldiers were sick of the war. Arkilaus joined Thersander's protest and refused to fight. Arkesilaus promised Thersander wealth and land. Arkesilaus promised Arkilaus a city. Both accepted and they rode out to battle just as the Kalotinans were about to defeat the Plesivons. Inspired by their leaders, the Plesivons regained their courage and pushed the Kalotinans back to their city walls. Peilaus then proposed a duel between himself and Arkilaus. The winner's nation could take whatever they wanted from the loser, and the winner's nation would win the war. Arkilaus accepted and the two heroes fought for hours, neither one being able to seriously injure the other, until Arkilaus broke Peilaus' shield and was able to stab Peilaus in the chest, killing Peilaus. as Peilaus fell, Arkilaus removed his helmet and knelt for his fallen opponent, for he, like all the other Plesivons, respected Peilaus. However, a Kalotinan soldier shot an arrow into Arkilaus' unprotected head, killing him. As both sides heroes were killed, and both sides were enraged, they charged at eachother and the war resumed. For two more years it was more of the same. However, on the tenth year of the war, the Plesivons had an idea. They moved their ships away from the view of the city of Kalotina and had some Plesivons dress in the armour of captured Kalotinans, and they entered the city, explaining that the Plesivons had admitted defeat and left. After two days of celebration, at night, when few guards were protecting the city, the Plesivons opened the gate and the army of Plesivo entered Kalotina at last. They burned the city to the ground and while some Kalotinans escaped, most died.

After Arkesilaus returned home, he allowed his daughter to marry Eumelus, making Eumelus his heir. There was much celebration in Plesivo, and everyone was happy that the war was over. Arkesilaus reigned for twenty-three more years, and Eumelus reigned for eighteen years. The next three-hundred years were prosperous for Plesivo.

In 532 BC, a descendant of Arkesilaus named Sechyros took over the city of Melivoia. Sechyros wanted to control the city of Maurykia, an ally of Plesivo. Many people joined Sechyros, as they were fed up with just being vassals of Kotinodius, the king of Plesivo. In the spring of 530 BC, Sechyros attacked Maurykia, and defeated the Maurykians easily. The next year, Kotinodius and his allies attacked Melivoia, and nearly killed Sechyros, but one of Sechyros' soldiers killed the man. The battle was a stalemate and both sides retreated to the safety of their cities for a few years. In 525 BC, Sechyros attacked Plesivo. Sechyros took control of the city for a few days, but the peasants and the Plesivons took it back. Sechyros retreated and the Plesivons chased them. Eventually, Sechyros attacked the Plesivons. However, the Plesivons would kill Sechyros in the battle. Sechyros was dead, and the Plesivons were safe, but it was only temporary.

Sechyros' son, Zychlios, took over Melivoia after his father's death. He formed an alliance with Kotinodius in 519 BC. Things were starting to look better, until Kotinodius died. Kotinodius' nephew Spretinos took control of Plesivo. At first, Spretinos was a good ruler. He protected his allies and vassals from the northern barbarians, built new forts, and expanded Plesivo's trade routes. However, in the winter of 513 BC, Spretinos went mad. All of a sudden, the Plesivons had a serious problem. They could give control to Spretinos' brother Leitus or they could let Spretinos run the country. They would not have to question that decision for long, because Spretinos died in the autumn of 512 BC. Leitus took control of Plesivo, and reversed most of his brother's bad decisions.

While all of this was happening, Zychlios had been planning to take over the city of Kardamyla, one of the few cities that was not a vassal or ally of Plesivo. When Leitus became king of Plesivo, he attacked. Zychlios faced a strong resistance from Kardamyla, and so he asked for help from his ally Leitus. Leitus agreed and sent his army to Kardamyla. However, Kardamyla did not fall. The forces of Zychlios and Leitus only took the city in 510 BC. The next year, Leitus married Zychlios' daughter, Helen of Maurykia. This marriage, and Zychlios' death in 504 BC, united Plesivo and Melivoia. This was when the Kings of Plesivo were the most powerful they would ever be.

In 492 BC, the Makrybrodatians, a tribe from the northern coast of the Bay of Paraskevi, attempted to migrate into land controlled by the Plesivons. The reason for this migration is that the homeland of the Makrybrodatians was being attacked by Bezyzifonias, a warlord from the north. As the Makrybrodatians started their migration, Leitus sent them an envoy telling them that they could settle in his territory if they would form an alliance with him, and that they would defend the Plesivons realm from northern invaders. The Makrybrodatians agreed.

In 489 BC, a group of about 1,500 Makrybrodatians, mostly shepherds or farmers, and their families, settled southwest of the area where Leitus allowed Makrybrodatian settlement. Leitus allowed them to settle there if they would pay tribute to him and that each family would send one warrior to be trained every two years. The Makrybrodatian settlers agreed, and they came to be known as Agrotilonians.

The next ten years were uneventful, but in 478 BC, Bezyzifonias attacked Plesivo. His horsemen devastated the eastern Plesivon lands, forcing Leitus to call upon his allies the Makrybrodatians. The armies of Plesivo and Makrybrodatia faced Bezyzifonias at the field of Arkesilethos. The battle was fierce and Bezyzifonias’ men managed to wound Leitus, who continued to command his troops even though his legs and back were horribly wounded. The Plesivons decided to retreat to protect their king, but the Makrybrodatian horsemen charged towards Bezyzifonias, striking down his advisors and commanders. The Plesivons soon charged back into battle, led by their king.

Leitus charged towards Bezyzifonias, but Bezyzifonias managed to dodge Leitus’ spear. Leitus charged again, but this time Bezyzifonias blocked Leitus’ spear with his shield. Then Leitus dismounted and began fighting Bezyzifonias with his sword. Bezyzifonias struck Leitus’ shield so hard that it broke. Then Leitus cut Bezyzifonias in the arm. The two kings fought until Leitus chopped off Bezyzifonias’ arm, which was followed by a stab that killed Bezyzifonias. Now the Plesivons routed their enemies, and the Battle of Arkesilethos can be considered the height of Plesivo’s power. But Leitus died a few weeks after the battle, and Plesivo began to decline. It can be said that Plesivo’s golden age started with a great monarch, Arkesilaus, and ended with another great monarch, Leitus.

### II.

With Leitus dead, the hegemony of Plesivo was over. The lands controlled by Leitus were divided between his three sons. Plesivo was given to Leitus’ eldest son, Zalodras, Melivoia was given to Leitus’ second son, Rodotos, and Maurykia was given to Laditus, Leitus’ youngest son. With the realm of the Plesivons divided, the age of warlords began. For almost half a century, the lands around the Bay of Paraskevi were engulfed in chaos.

After Leitus’ death in 477 BC, his three sons began fighting for power. Laditus, the weakest of the three brothers, made alliances to protect himself from his more powerful siblings. His allies included Kardamyla and the Makrybrodatians. Zalodras and Rodotos began fighting eachother in 475 BC, only two years after their father’s death. Zalodras thought that he was entitled to rule all of his father’s lands, as he was the eldest son of Leitus. However, at the time, succession was not done by primogeniture, but instead, the father’s favourite son would inherit all of his father’s lands, and that son would allow his brothers to take part of their father’s land in exchange for a yearly tribute, usually crops. While this practice started with the division between a farmer’s sons after his death, it was used by the kings too.

The problem was that Leitus either did not have a favourite son or did not specify who his favourite was. Both Rodotos and Zalodras claimed that they were Leitus’ favourite son, while Laditus claimed that Leitus wanted his sons to unite together rather than fight eachother. With the two most powerful brothers squabbling, conflict was inevitable. Zalodras attacked Rodotos in the spring of 475 BC. Zalodras and Rodotos’ forces met outside the gates of Melivoia, where Zalodras took the city of Melivoia and nearly captured his brother. Rodotos hired mercenaries from Agrotilonia, and in 473 BC, Rodotos took back the city of Melivoia. The next year, Zalodras agreed to peace.

While the war was going on, Laditus was building up the city of Maurykia. In 476 BC, he began construction for a new district in the city. In 474 BC, he built an area in the northern side of the city that held theatres, shops, and houses. This area would become known as the Laditine district. His other district was finished in 472 BC, and the following year he had the walls expanded to cover the new areas of Maurykia. Laditus also expanded the trade routes, starting trade with Makrybrodatia and Zalosia, the remnants of Bezyzifonias’ empire. Laditus’ decisions led to Maurykia becoming the most prosperous city in the region.

In 467 BC, the king of Kardamyla, Nymaditos, was attacked by Rodotos. Laditus aided Nymaditos, and raised his armies to war. Although Rodotos’ forces captured Nymaditos, Laditus and his allies were able to defeat Rodotos in the battle of Pasochynia. Following the battle, Zalodras threatened to intervene and Rodotos retreated.

Although peace had been secured, every leader’s goals conflicted with each other’s and war was inevitable. The only question was who would strike first. In 466 BC, the leaders of Plesivo, Melivoia, Kardamyla and Maurykia started building up their armies. Laditus continued improving his city, while Rodotos and Zalodras both worked on training their armies. Nymaditos attempted to train a cavalry force of six hundred horsemen, but the horses either ran off or were stolen by some bandits.

But the kings would not have enough time to prepare. In the winter of 464 BC, Rodotos died and his son Euryades took over Melivoia. Euryades was only twelve years old, so Melivoia was actually being led by a man named Demoptolemus. Demoptolemus was a clever man, but he was also overconfident in his abilities. He formed an alliance with Nymaditos and Laditus, to oppose Zalodras. However, this new alliance did not deter Zalodras. He attacked Melivoia in the summer of the following year.

Zalodras’ soldiers met the forces of Nymaditos and Demoptolemus at the field of Arkesilethos, and the Melivoian army set up a camp there, but Zalodras retreated to the small town of Samanderion. This caused a dispute between Nymaditos and Demoptolemus. Demoptolemus wanted to attack Zalodras while he was in Samanderion. Nymaditos wanted to wait in the field of Arkesilethos until Zalodras attacked them. But Demoptolemus went ahead and attacked the town of Samanderion anyway. When Demoptolemus reached the village, Zalodras’ soldiers were nowhere to be seen. But Zalodras ambushed Demoptolemus and his soldiers. Demoptolemus sent one of his soldiers, apparently named Tesippus, to alert Nymaditos of the ambush. Tesippus killed four of Zalodras’ men, then escaped the town, mounted a nearby horse, and rode it to Nymaditos’ camp. Tesippus alerted Nymaditos, who went to help Demoptolemus immediately. When Nymaditos arrived, Zalodras and his men retreated, knowing that they could not defeat Nymaditos. After the battle, Demoptolemus was humiliated and Tesippus became a hero.

Then Laditus reached Samanderion and joined the army of Nymaditos. When Laditus met Zalodras in battle, neither side could win. However, when Zalodras set up camp in a field just west of Samanderion, Laditus sent three soldiers to go to Zalodras’ camp. The first was Tesippus, hero of Samanderion. The second was Pelisandes of Kardamyla, one of Laditus’ best soldiers. The third was Laditus’ son and heir, Madreios.

The three men walked towards the enemy’s camp, hiding in the grass. They were not noticed by Zalodras’ guards, either because the guards were drunk or asleep. Zalodras was awoken by the three men, and was then struck by Pelisandes’ brave sword. Zalodras was killed that night, and without leadership, his army dispersed. Zalodras had a son named Antimachus who took control of Plesivo.

What happens next is unclear but what we do know is that the Zalosians invaded in 459 BC and were repelled by the army of Laditus, then Laditus and Nymaditos became rivals, Demoptolemus is never mentioned after the Battle of Samanderion, and Antimachus obliterated the city of Musiolica.

What we are certain about is that in 449 BC, Laditus died and his son Madreios took over Maurykia. The reign of Madreios and his son, who was named Pelisandes after the warrior who killed Zalodras, would be prosperous for the region.

When Madreios took control of Maurykia in 449 BC, he wanted to reunite his grandfather’s lands. To do this, he would have to defeat both Nymaditos and Antimachus, which would be a challenge for the young king. Nymaditos would not be hard for him to defeat, because Nymaditos had made enemies with almost everyone in the region. Antimachus was the opposite. With a new generation of leaders ruling their cities, Antimachus made allies with anyone he could. This meant that to beat Antimachus, Madreios would have to sway some of Antimachus’ allies and keep his own greatest ally, Euryades, the young king of Melivoia.

In addition to this, Madreios would also have to win the support of his own generals, some of which wanted to overthrow him and become king. One of these generals was Tepranios, who started a plot to kill Madreios. Many important people joined Tepranios, thinking that if they supported him then they would get important positions in his government. Tepranios and the other conspirators made elaborate plans to kill Madreios and his young son Pelisandes, who was born in 449 BC.

However, while all of this was happening, Euryades, the king of Melivoia, was overthrown by a man named Nesichias, who might have been the son of Demoptolemus. Euryades fled to Maurykia where he was welcomed by Madreios, and almost immediately afterwards the two men began planning to retake the city. Madreios hired some Agrotilonian and Makrybrodatian mercenaries, and in the spring of 446 BC, he attacked Nesichias. The two armies met once in battle just outside of Melivoia, and Nesichias won. Euryades and Madreios retreated and engaged in battle with Nesichias again, and this time they won. The armies of Maurykia camped outside of Melivoia that winter, and in the spring, they attacked Melivoia, eventually capturing it and killing Nesichias. Because Madreios helped Euryades regain his city, Euryades became a vassal king under Madreios.

When Madreios returned home, he began planning an expedition that would give him a significant advantage over his rivals. The land on the western side of the Bay of Paraskevi had been untouched by the kings of Plesivo and their successors, mostly because the region was mountainous and heavily forested, and thus hard to control. Madreios wanted to build a city on the Cape of Nelegio. In the winter of 444 BC, he sent 200 people to settle the area. The people decided to name the settlement after Madreios, and so the city was called Madriopolis. The settlers met with the locals, who had already built a village on a nearby hill, and the locals agreed to help the settlers build a wall around their settlement. Over the next few years, the locals and the settlers would become more friendly, and eventually the two settlements would merge.

Back in Maurykia, Tepranios decided to put his plans into motion. He and the other conspirators invited Madreios to a meeting, but one of the conspirators went to Madreios and told him not to accept the invitation. Madreios accepted the invitation anyway. When the meeting began, Madreios rode in on a horse, wearing armor and carrying his sword. Madreios demanded that the conspirators surrender to him. He told them that if they accepted, he would give them a stable life far away from Maurykia. If they declined, he would kill them and their bodies would be dropped into the sea. Most of the conspirators surrendered, but Tepranios and a few other men declined, and Madreios was true to his word. Those who accepted would be given twelve ships, because there were twelve conspirators who surrendered. They would be sent to explore far-away lands. If they returned with their ships intact and with an account of their travels, Madreios would give them important positions in his colonies. If they returned on any ship that was not given to them by Madreios, they would be stripped of all their possessions other than their own food and clothes. Only two men returned from their journey, and they were made co-rulers of Madriopolis.

It is believed that another group actually landed near the modern-day city of Kolnita and are the ancestors of the Leidarians living in that part of Dacia. This is evidenced by a stone tablet dated to around 400 BC discovered near Kolnita that mentions *Alcmaeon son of Idomeneus*. It is believed that, although the names of the conspirators are not named in the Chronicles, Idomeneus was one of the conspirators.

In Leidaria, Antimachus was planning an invasion of Maurykia. He launched this invasion in the spring of 442 BC, and his forces met those of Madreios at the gates of Maurykia. The two armies clashed but in the end Antimachus was victorious. He took Maurykia and Melivoia for himself and Madreios with his 7 year old son Pelisandes fled to Makrybrodatia. It was the first time for decades that someone had united the old possessions of Plesivo, but it was not to last.

Madreios rallied support for his cause, building up an army from Makrybrodatia, then moving back into Leidaria making alliances with states that were technically Antimachus' vassals. In 432 BC, Madreios and his allies attacked Plesivo. Antimachus fought long and hard, he was killed by a Makrybrodatian chieftain. It is said that an archer hit Antimachus in the eye with an arrow, and taking the opportunity, the Makrybrodatian chieftain (whom we do not know the name of) chopped off Antimachus' head. After this victory, Madreios ruled all of the domains of Leitus, and 432 BC is regarded as the founding of the Leidarian Kingdom (sometimes the date of 439 AD is also given as the establishment of the Leidarian Kingdom due to the establishment of Christianity in that year).

Madreios would die the following year, and his death would truly bring the Warlord era to the end. Although Madreios was the first king of a united Leidaria, we should remember that he only reigned as king for one year and that he spent most of his life as a local ruler in Maurykia. Madreios' son, Pelisandes, is given much more credit, as he enforced his vassals loyalty (there is evidence to suggest that Madreios' de facto control barely extended outside of Maurykia and Melivoia), expanded the realm further, and his rule saw the power in Leidaria shift from Plesivo to Maurykia (As early as 100 BC, Plesivo was probably already becoming a ghost town). Pelisandes also reigned much longer which allowed him to establish himself more and his reign made it clear that Leidaria would not go back to another Warlord era.

### III.

After Madreios' death in 431 BC, Pelisandes became king at the young age of 18. His reign saw the expansion of Leidaria in all directions, laying the groundwork for the Leidarian Empire that came centuries after. Pelisandes is recognized in his time and today as one of the greatest monarchs of Leidaria, not only due to the expansion of the kingdom, but also because of his many projects, one of which was the creation of a record of Leidarian history called the Chronicle of Pelisandes. The Chronicle is the only primary source for Leidarian history up until about 150 BC.

Pelisandes immediately went to work strengthening his realm. He removed vassals he believed to be disloyal, and rewarded those who were loyal. He also sent out a general named Anthiphus to conquer land in the west. Anthiphus landed at Madriopolis, where he ventured into the nearby hills to explore the area. Of the tribes he encountered, all of them would become subjects of Pelisandes. However, Pelisandes could not easily enforce the loyalty of these tribes due to them being across the sea. So, he decided to make Anthiphus the ruler of Madriopolis. Anthiphus enforced the tribes' loyalty, and he was loyal enough not to disobey Pelisandes.

By this time, Bezyzifonias' empire had collapsed, and the Makrybrodatians moved back to their homeland. However, they still agreed to pay tribute to Pelisandes and future kings. In just one year of becoming king, Pelisandes had made 2 major territorial gains.

Pelisandes also built up his capital city. Expanding upon the projects of Laditus, Pelisandes built a magnificent theater which was created by carving a hill into steps and leaving a flat area at the bottom. He also built new roads and improved existing ones.

## Leidarian Butter

**Butter** is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment, and used as a fat in baking, sauce-making, pan frying, and other cooking procedures.

Most frequently made from cow's milk, butter can also be manufactured from the milk of other mammals, including sheep, goats, buffalo, and yaks. It is made by churning milk or cream to separate the fat globules from the buttermilk. Salt has been added to butter since antiquity to help to preserve it, particularly when being transported; salt may still play a preservation role but is less important today as the entire supply chain is usually refrigerated. In modern times salt may be added for its taste. Food colorings are sometimes added to butter. Rendering butter, removing the water and milk solids, produces clarified butter or *ghee*, which is almost entirely butterfat.

Butter is a water-in-oil emulsion resulting from an inversion of the cream, where the milk proteins are the emulsifiers. Butter remains a firm solid when refrigerated, but softens to a spreadable consistency at room temperature, and melts to a thin liquid consistency at 32 to 35 °C (90 to 95 °F). The density of butter is 911 g/L (15+1⁄4 oz/US pt). It generally has a pale yellow color, but varies from deep yellow to nearly white. Its natural, unmodified color is dependent on the source animal's feed and genetics, but the commercial manufacturing process sometimes alters this with food colorings like annatto or carotene.

The word *butter* derives (via Germanic languages) from the Latin *butyrum*, which is the latinisation of the Greek βούτυρον (*bouturon*). This may be a compound of βοῦς (*bous*), "ox, cow" + τυρός (*turos*), "cheese", that is "cow-cheese". The word *turos* ("cheese") is attested in Mycenaean Greek. The latinized form is found in the name butyric acid, a compound found in rancid butter and dairy products such as Parmesan cheese.

Unhomogenized milk and cream contain butterfat in microscopic globules. These globules are surrounded by membranes made of phospholipids (fatty acid emulsifiers) and proteins, which prevent the fat in milk from pooling together into a single mass. Butter is produced by agitating cream, which damages these membranes and allows the milk fats to conjoin, separating from the other parts of the cream. Variations in the production method will create butters with different consistencies, mostly due to the butterfat composition in the finished product. Butter contains fat in three separate forms: free butterfat, butterfat crystals, and undamaged fat globules. In the finished product, different proportions of these forms result in different consistencies within the butter; butters with many crystals are harder than butters dominated by free fats.[*citation needed*]

Churning produces small butter grains floating in the water-based portion of the cream. This watery liquid is called buttermilk—although the buttermilk most commonly sold today is instead a directly fermented skimmed milk. The buttermilk is drained off; sometimes more buttermilk is removed by rinsing the grains with water. Then the grains are "worked": pressed and kneaded together. When prepared manually, this is done using wooden boards called scotch hands. This consolidates the butter into a solid mass and breaks up embedded pockets of buttermilk or water into tiny droplets.[*citation needed*]

Commercial butter is about 80% butterfat and 15% water; traditionally-made butter may have as little as 65% fat with 30% water. Butterfat is a mixture of triglyceride, a triester derived from glycerol and three of any of several fatty acid groups. Annatto is sometimes added by U.S. butter manufacturers without declaring it in the label because the U.S. allows butter to have an undisclosed flavorless and natural coloring agent (whereas all other foods in the U.S. must label coloring agents). The preservative lactic acid is sometimes added instead of salt (and as works a flavor enhancer) and sometimes additional diacetyl is added to boost the buttery flavor (in the U.S., both ingredients can be listed as simply as “natural flavors). When used together in the NIZO method, these two flavorings produces the flavor of cultured butter without actually fully fermenting.

Before modern factory butter making, cream was usually collected from several milkings and was therefore several days old and somewhat fermented by the time it was made into butter. Butter made in this traditional way (from a fermented cream) is known as **cultured butter**. During fermentation, the cream naturally sours as bacteria convert milk sugars into lactic acid. The fermentation process produces additional aroma compounds, including diacetyl, which makes for a fuller-flavored and more "buttery" tasting product.

Butter made from fresh cream is called **sweet cream butter**. Production of sweet cream butter first became common in the 19th century, when the development of refrigeration and the mechanical cream separator. made sweet cream butter faster and cheaper to produce at scale (sweet cream butter can be made in 6 hours, whereas cultured butter can take up to 72 hours to make).

Cultured butter is preferred throughout continental Europe, while sweet cream butter dominates in the United States and the United Kingdom. Chef Jansen Chan, the director of pastry operations at the International Culinary Center in Manhattan, says, “It's no secret that dairy in France and most of Europe is higher quality than most of the U.S.” The combination of butter culturing, the 82% butterfat minimum (as opposed to the 80% minimum in the U.S.), and the fact that French butter is grass-fed, accounts for why French pastry (and French food in general) has a reputation for being richer-tasting and flakier. Cultured butter is sometimes labeled "European-style" butter in the United States, although cultured butter is made and sold by some, especially Amish, dairies.

Milk that is to be made into butter is usually pasteurized during production to kill pathogenic bacteria and other microbes. Butter made from raw milk is very rare and can be dangerous because it is made from unpasteurized milk. Commercial raw milk products are not legal to sell through interstate commerce in the United States and very rare in Europe. Raw cream butter is generally only found made at home by consumers who have purchased raw whole milk directly from dairy farmers, skimmed the cream themselves, and made butter with it.

Clarified butter has almost all of its water and milk solids removed, leaving almost-pure butterfat. Clarified butter is made by heating butter to its melting point and then allowing it to cool; after settling, the remaining components separate by density. At the top, whey proteins form a skin, which is removed. The resulting butterfat is then poured off from the mixture of water and casein proteins that settle to the bottom.

Ghee is clarified butter that has been heated to around 120 °C (250 °F) after the water evaporated, turning the milk solids brown. This process flavors the ghee, and also produces antioxidants that help protect it from rancidity. Because of this, ghee can be kept for six to eight months under normal conditions.

Cream may be separated (usually by a centrifuge or a sedimentation) from whey instead of milk, as a byproduct of cheese-making. Whey butter may be made from whey cream. Whey cream and butter have a lower fat content and taste more salty, tangy and "cheesy". They are also cheaper to make than "sweet" cream and butter. The fat content of whey is low, so 1000 pounds of whey will typically give only three pounds of butter.

There are several butters produced in Europe with protected geographical indications; these include:

* Beurre d'Ardenne, from Belgium
* Beurre d'Isigny, from France
* Beurre Charentes-Poitou (Which also includes: Beurre des Charentes and Beurre des Deux-Sèvres under the same classification), from France
* Beurre Rose, from Luxembourg
* Mantequilla de Soria, from Spain
* Mantega de l'Alt Urgell i la Cerdanya, from Spain
* Rucava white butter (*Rucavas baltais sviests*), from Latvia

Elaine Khosrova traces the invention of butter back to Neolithic-era Africa 8,000 B.C in her book. A later Sumerian tablet, dating to approximately 2,500 B.C., describes the butter making process, from the milking of cattle, while contemporary Sumerian tablets identify butter as a ritual offering.

In the Mediterranean climate, unclarified butter spoils quickly, unlike cheese, so it is not a practical method of preserving the nutrients of milk. The ancient Greeks and Romans seemed to have considered butter a food fit more for the northern barbarians. A play by the Greek comic poet Anaxandrides refers to Thracians as *boutyrophagoi*, "butter-eaters". In his *Natural History*, Pliny the Elder calls butter "the most delicate of food among barbarous nations" and goes on to describe its medicinal properties. Later, the physician Galen also described butter as a medicinal agent only.

In the cooler climates of northern Europe, people could store butter longer before it spoiled. Scandinavia has the oldest tradition in Europe of butter export trade, dating at least to the 12th century. After the fall of Rome and through much of the Middle Ages, butter was a common food across most of Europe—but had a low reputation, and so was consumed principally by peasants. Butter slowly became more accepted by the upper class, notably when the Roman Catholic Church allowed its consumption during Lent from the early 16th century. Bread and butter became common fare among the middle class and the English, in particular, gained a reputation for their liberal use of melted butter as a sauce with meat and vegetables.

In antiquity, butter was used for fuel in lamps, as a substitute for oil. The *Butter Tower* of Rouen Cathedral was erected in the early 16th century when Archbishop Georges d'Amboise authorized the burning of butter during Lent, instead of oil, which was scarce at the time.

Across northern Europe, butter was sometimes packed into barrels (firkins) and buried in peat bogs, perhaps for years. Such "bog butter" would develop a strong flavor as it aged, but remain edible, in large part because of the cool, airless, antiseptic and acidic environment of a peat bog. Firkins of such buried butter are a common archaeological find in Ireland; the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology has some containing "a grayish cheese-like substance, partially hardened, not much like butter, and quite free from putrefaction." The practice was most common in Ireland in the 11th–14th centuries; it ended entirely before the 19th century.

Until the 19th century, the vast majority of butter was made by hand, on farms. Butter also provided extra income to farm families. They used wood presses with carved decoration to press butter into pucks or small bricks to sell at nearby markets or general stores. The decoration identified the farm that produced the butter. This practice continued until production was mechanized and butter was produced in less decorative stick form.

Like Ireland, France became well known for its butter, particularly in Normandy and Brittany. Butter consumption in London in the mid 1840s was estimated at 15,357 tons annually.

The first butter factories appeared in the United States in the early 1860s, after the successful introduction of cheese factories a decade earlier. In the late 1870s, the centrifugal cream separator was introduced, marketed most successfully by Swedish engineer Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval.

In 1920, Otto Hunziker authored *The Butter Industry, Prepared for Factory, School and Laboratory*, a well-known text in the industry that enjoyed at least three editions (1920, 1927, 1940). As part of the efforts of the American Dairy Science Association, Hunziker and others published articles regarding: causes of tallowiness (an odor defect, distinct from rancidity, a taste defect); mottles (an aesthetic issue related to uneven color); introduced salts; the impact of creamery metals and liquids; and acidity measurement. These and other ADSA publications helped standardize practices internationally.

Butter consumption declined in most western nations during the 20th century, mainly because of the rising popularity of margarine, which is less expensive and, until recent years, was perceived as being healthier. In the United States, margarine consumption overtook butter during the 1950s, and it is still the case today that more margarine than butter is eaten in the U.S. and the EU.

In 1997, India produced 1,470,000 metric tons (1,620,000 short tons) of butter, most of which was consumed domestically. Second in production was the United States (522,000 t or 575,000 short tons), followed by France (466,000 t or 514,000 short tons), Germany (442,000 t or 487,000 short tons), and New Zealand (307,000 t or 338,000 short tons). France ranks first in per capita butter consumption with 8 kg per capita per year. In terms of absolute consumption, Germany was second after India, using 578,000 metric tons (637,000 short tons) of butter in 1997, followed by France (528,000 t or 582,000 short tons), Russia (514,000 t or 567,000 short tons), and the United States (505,000 t or 557,000 short tons). New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and Ukraine are among the few nations that export a significant percentage of the butter they produce.

Different varieties are found around the world. *Smen* is a spiced Moroccan clarified butter, buried in the ground and aged for months or years. A similar product is *maltash* of the Hunza Valley, where cow and yak butter can be buried for decades, and is used at events such as weddings. Yak butter is a specialty in Tibet; *tsampa*, barley flour mixed with yak butter, is a staple food. Butter tea is consumed in the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and India. It consists of tea served with intensely flavored—or "rancid"—yak butter and salt. In African and Asian nations, butter is sometimes traditionally made from sour milk rather than cream. It can take several hours of churning to produce workable butter grains from fermented milk.

Normal butter softens to a spreadable consistency around 15 °C (60 °F), well above refrigerator temperatures. The "butter compartment" found in many refrigerators may be one of the warmer sections inside, but it still leaves butter quite hard. Until recently, many refrigerators sold in New Zealand featured a "butter conditioner", a compartment kept warmer than the rest of the refrigerator—but still cooler than room temperature—with a small heater. Keeping butter tightly wrapped delays rancidity, which is hastened by exposure to light or air, and also helps prevent it from picking up other odors. Wrapped butter has a shelf life of several months at refrigerator temperatures. Butter can also be frozen to extend its storage life.

In the United States, butter has traditionally been made into small, rectangular blocks by means of a pair of wooden butter paddles. It is usually produced in 4-ounce (1⁄4 lb; 110 g) sticks that are individually wrapped in waxed or foiled paper, and sold as a 1 pound (0.45 kg) package of 4 sticks. This practice is believed to have originated in 1907, when Swift and Company began packaging butter in this manner for mass distribution. Due to historical differences in butter printers (machines that cut and package butter), 4-ounce sticks are commonly produced in two different shapes:

* The dominant shape east of the Rocky Mountains is the Elgin, or Eastern-pack shape, named for a dairy in Elgin, Illinois. The sticks measure 4+3⁄4 by 1+1⁄4 by 1+1⁄4 inches (121 mm × 32 mm × 32 mm) and are typically sold stacked two by two in elongated cube-shaped boxes.
* West of the Rocky Mountains, butter printers standardized on a different shape that is now referred to as the Western-pack shape. These butter sticks measure 3+1⁄4 by 1+1⁄2 by 1+1⁄2 inches (83 mm × 38 mm × 38 mm) and are usually sold with four sticks packed side-by-side in a flat, rectangular box.

Most butter dishes are designed for Elgin-style butter sticks.

Outside of the United States, butter is measured for sale by mass (rather than by volume or unit/stick), and is often sold in 250 g (8.8 oz) and 500 g (18 oz) packages.

Since the 1940s, but more commonly the 1960s, butter pats have been individually wrapped and packed in cardboard boxes. Prior to use of cardboard, butter was bulk packed in wood. The earliest discoveries used firkins. From about 1882 wooden boxes were used, as the introduction of refrigeration on ships brought about longer transit times. Butter boxes were generally made with woods whose resin would not taint the butter, such as sycamore, kahikatea, hoop pine, maple, or spruce. They commonly weighed a firkin - 56 pounds (25 kg).

Butter has been considered indispensable in French cuisine since the 17th century. Chefs and cooks have extolled its importance: Fernand Point said "Donnez-moi du beurre, encore du beurre, toujours du beurre!" ('Give me butter, more butter, still more butter!'); Julia Child said "With enough butter, anything is good."

Melted butter plays an important role in the preparation of sauces, notably in French cuisine. *Beurre noisette* (hazelnut butter) and *Beurre noir* (black butter) are sauces of melted butter cooked until the milk solids and sugars have turned golden or dark brown; they are often finished with an addition of vinegar or lemon juice. Hollandaise and béarnaise sauces are emulsions of egg yolk and melted butter. Hollandaise and béarnaise sauces are stabilized with the powerful emulsifiers in the egg yolks, but butter itself contains enough emulsifiers—mostly remnants of the fat globule membranes—to form a stable emulsion on its own.

*Beurre blanc* (white butter) is made by whisking butter into reduced vinegar or wine, forming an emulsion with the texture of thick cream. *Beurre monté* (prepared butter) is melted but still emulsified butter; it lends its name to the practice of "mounting" a sauce with butter: whisking cold butter into any water-based sauce at the end of cooking, giving the sauce a thicker body and a glossy shine—as well as a buttery taste.

Butter is used for sautéing and frying, although its milk solids brown and burn above 150 °C (250 °F)—a rather low temperature for most applications. The smoke point of butterfat is around 200 °C (400 °F), so clarified butter or ghee is better suited to frying.

Butter fills several roles in baking, including making possible a range of textures, making chemical leavenings work better, tenderizing proteins, and enhancing the tastes of other ingredients. It is used in a similar manner to other solid fats like lard, suet, or shortening, but has a flavor that may better complement sweet baked goods.

Butter fills several roles in baking, including making possible a range of textures, making chemical leavenings work better, tenderizing proteins, and enhancing the tastes of other ingredients. It is used in a similar manner to other solid fats like lard, suet, or shortening, but has a flavor that may better complement sweet baked goods.

As butter is essentially just the milk fat, it contains only traces of lactose, so moderate consumption of butter is not a problem for lactose intolerant people. People with milk allergies may still need to avoid butter, which contains enough of the allergy-causing proteins to cause reactions. Whole milk, butter and cream have high levels of saturated fat.

A 2015 study concluded that "hypercholesterolemic people should keep their consumption of butter to a minimum, whereas moderate butter intake may be considered part of the diet in the normocholesterolemic population."

A meta-analysis and systematic review published in 2016 found relatively small or insignificant overall associations of a dose of 14g/day of butter with mortality and CVD, and consumption was insignificantly inversely associated with incidence of diabetes. The study states that "findings do not support a need for major emphasis in dietary guidelines on either increasing or decreasing butter consumption."