How butter is invented 

Initially, butter is a type of dairy product that was first made using goat or sheep milk. 

In Egypt during the 18th Theban dynasty mention that there were two kinds of butter that were made either butter made from  goat’s milk  or cow’s milk.

However, the Egyptian at that time preferred to use goat’s or sheep milk. 

This is because goats and sheep are able to adapt to any climate easily and they eat any kind of weed making it the main supply of milk for humans at that time rather than cattle which is being used for other things. 

The history took a long way back in the ancient world, whereby nomad people placed the goat milk in a skin bag, produced butter either by shaking the bag manually or tied the bag to their animal thus butter produced through the movement of the animal.  

In a book named History of Food, mention that before the pot was invented to store the milk, the nomads use stomachs or bladders of slaughtered animals in order to store the milk. 

The goat milk in these containers will then turn into curd due to the enzyme in the stomach of the slaughtered animals making the milk to become coagulate.

In another part of the world, Marc Bloch, a French historian, mentions

the Eurasia ( people of mixed European and Asian ancestry)  had been using the  Mongolian technique of using a leather flask or butter churn to make the butter”. 

Butter churn which existed in Europe as early as the 6th Century AD was usually associated with the woman as churning the butter which was part of  household chores at that time. 

In the 14th century the Venetian mentioned different methods of making the butter. It is made from cream cheese which must be pounded with hot water. 

The fat that rose to the top was then cool and beaten to make butter. It was not a popular ingredient in Italy at that time. 

Until in the fifteenth century, the Italian began to  use the butter as a thickening sauce.  

Making biscuits using butter 

There are many brands of butter sold at local  stores with a variety of prices.

Since Malaysian make a lot of biscuits during festivals, the supply of butter is always available.

The taste of the biscuits varied according to the butter we used. 

There are three ways of making biscuits, either using margarine, butter, oil and ghee.

I tried many different kinds of butter to make biscuits and the taste is quite alright until I came across Lurpak butter that makes the taste of the biscuit better. 

It has either salted or unsalted butter. 

Whenever I make biscuits or cookies for Eid al-Fitri I certainly use the brand. It was considered an expensive ingredient in the cookies and gave a satisfying result.

Butter Lurpak is cheaper here in my hometown compared to other places, especially in Kuala Lumpur.  

The fact that I do not want to compromise with the quality I prefer to use this brand. 

When I start making biscuit

Making biscuits for Eid al-Fitri is an activity that  makes the festival merrier.

Usually, I make 10 days before Eid to give me more time to make five to seven types of biscuits.

I prefer to make biscuits during the day to give me concentration.

I start making in the morning till afternoon. Each baking I can make between 80 to 90 pieces of each type of biscuit. 

I save more compared to what I buy at the shop and the taste is better because I’m using a good quality brand. 

Commercial Eid al-Fitri biscuits tasteless and use margarine to save cost.    

What biscuit that I made

There are a few biscuits that I made for the Eid al-Fitr celebration.  The one I never miss is pineapple tart. (Pineapple tart is known as Tart Nenas).

These are my most favourite celebration delicacies.  Other recipes are like cashew nut biscuit and Suji made from ghee. 

Other than that, when I was young beside traditional biscuit, Biskut Bangkit and Bahulu which are made only from sugar, eggs and flour are my favourites.

For my grandchildren, I made chocolate biscuit mix with oats as one of the main ingredients. They like it very much and they always request for this biscuits whenever the festive season come.

Conclusion

I love making biscuits during Hari Raya especially towards the end of Ramadan as it makes the celebration merrier.