QUESTION:��Is butter considered a type of cheese? Must it be�gevinas Yisroel?

ANSWER:�Butter is not subject to the rule of�Gevinas Akum. The manufacture of cheese involves the coagulation of milk protein, called casein. Casein can be coagulated by using non-kosher enzymes derived from the stomach flesh of�neveilah�animals (animals which did not undergo kosher slaughter), which would render the finished product non-kosher. Therefore, Chazal decreed that special onsite supervision is necessary, to ensure that kosher enzymes are used (Avodah Zarah 35b, Shulchan Aruch � Yoreh Deah 115:2).

Butter, however, is made by separating cream (fat) from milk and concentrating it into a solid through the churning process � not through coagulation. Since butter production never involves coagulation, Chazal did not subject butter to the rules of�Gevinas Akum.

Nevertheless, butter requires reliable kosher supervision due to issues of cream sourcing, shared equipment, and the frequent presence of starter distillate � a kosher-sensitive flavor commonly added to butter.