eli5: how does churning milk/heavy cream make butter/whipped cream?

Question

Like what’s actually happening to make these products. If they’re the same process, would me beating heavy cream too long end up making butter instead of just whipped cream?

In: 8

Answer 1

Butter is made from churning whole milk. The fat in the milk clumps together and separates into butter, leaving behind the butter milk. Heavy cream is the fattier component of the milk that can be skimmed off the top. Because it has already been separated from the lower fat milk, it reacts different when whipped and specifically turns into whipped cream.