The Scoop on Margarine

7. How Butter Came to Be

Butter has been around for at least 10,000 years. The word derives from a combination of the ancient Greek words bous for cow and turos, which means cheese. Some historians believe that traveling Arabs made the first batches, as they carried milk on their journeys. Others argue that Eurasian nomads inadvertently churned butter as they carried milk in skin bottles on their journeys. Early butter most likely came from the milk of sheep, goats, and yak -- the ancestors of today’s cows.