Good Taste / February 2007
Buttered Up
Butter has been a culinary treasure for centuries, a richly satisfying delight to rich and poor, the world over.
Through time and across the globe, from the ancient Fertile Crescent to the present day, butter has added flavor and texture to the simplest and most complex dishes for peasants and royalty. There are records of its use as early as 2000 BCE. Pure butter is produced today essentially as it was in King Tut’s time, though cows have generally replaced camels or water buffaloes as the milk source.
Since even accidental agitation can turn cream into butter, butter may go back to the Mesopotamian area between 9000 and 8000 BCE. Early butter would have been from sheep or goat’s milk, centuries before cattle were domesticated.
The earliest known butter making process came from Arabs and Syrians, who would skin a goat, sew up the skin tightly and leave an opening at the foreleg, where cream was poured in. Then, the “churn” was suspended from tent poles and swung until it became butter. Originally a peasant’s food, butter was gradually accepted by the upper class, especially after the Church permitted its consumption during Lent in the early 16th century. Bread and butter became common fare among the new middle class.
By the 1860s, butter was so in demand in France Emperor Napoleon III offered prize money for an inexpensive substitute to supplement France’s inadequate butter supplies. In 1869, a French chemist claimed the prize with the invention of margarine, beef tallow flavored with milk. Vegetable margarines followed after the development of hydrogenated oils around 1900.
Unlike margarine which is made from oil, or a blend of oils, including animal and vegetable fats, butter is a natural dairy product made by churning or shaking cream until it reaches a semisolid state. Although butter has no trans fats and no carbohydrates, all 100 calories in a tablespoon of butter come from fat.
It takes twenty one pounds, about ten quarts, of cow’s milk to make a pound of butter. India makes 42% of the world’s butter production. The US produces 9%, France produces 7 % and New Zealand produces just over 5 %. California is the largest producing state, followed closely by Wisconsin, with Washington a distant third
The US primarily produces sweet cream butter, which includes lightly salted, unsalted and whipped butter. Salt acts as a preservative and adds flavor but over 120 different compounds also contribute to butter’s unique flavor. Perhaps only a scientist can appreciate that the five primary factors responsible for butter’s rich flavor are fatty acids, lactones, methyl ketones, diacetyl and dimethyl sulfide.
Unsalted and salted butter can generally be substituted for one another. Still, unsalted butter brings out the best in seafood and is especially good for baking. Slightly softened, unsalted butter is unbeatable for melt-in-your-mouth cookies. With its low melting point, butter helps make cookies soft and chewy on the inside, crisp and golden on the outside. Unsalted butter is best for candy-making, too. Butter prevents excessive stickiness and is a key contributor to what makes caramels, pralines and toffee richly delicious.
For flakier pie crusts and puff pastries, keep butter as hard and cold as possible prior to use. The flaky texture is produced when cold pieces of butter, trapped between thin layers of dough, melt during baking, creating small air pockets.
Butter makes sauces smooth and creamy, and creates a cohesive consistency by helping mix fat- and water-based ingredients. For the best consistency and flavor, start with cold, hard butter when making a sauce. But, for maximum flavor as a condiment, heat butter before using. Heating releases natural flavor compounds, allowing butter to develop its full, rich taste before drizzling over vegetables, pasta, grains, potatoes or fish and poultry.
Butter can vary from deep yellow to nearly white depending largely on what food the animals were eating. It is typically paler in winter, when dairy cattle feed on stored hay rather than fresh grass. Butter can be stored, opened or unopened, up to one month in a refrigerator 40° F or colder. For long term storage, wrapped in plastic or foil, it can be frozen up to four months.
Flavored butters, savory or sweet, are perfect for spreading on breads, melting on vegetables or embellishing main dishes, from poultry to beef. With a few choice ingredients added, butter takes on unexpected and appealing new flavors. Bring one stick of butter to room temperature, use a mixer to beat the butter until smooth, add herbs, spices, nuts, cheeses or sauces to taste and beat until blended and refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to serve.
Flavored butters may be made ahead and frozen for up to one month; just let refrigerated containers sit at room temperature fifteen minutes before serving. For special occasions or as a hostess gift, roll a butter log in chopped nuts, fresh herbs or dried fruit before refrigerating.
Make a deliciously easy accompaniment for baked potatoes, omelets or bagels with herb and cheddar butter made by whipping butter with a cold-pack cheese spread and dill weed. Or, make Italian butter by combining Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and butter to spread on crusty breads or chicken before grilling.
It’s not true that fat calories from butter go right to the hips-most go right to the tastebuds. Real butter makes dishes taste better, richer and more flavorful.
Honey Pecan Butter
Blend well:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup toasted, chopped pecans
Orange Cranberry Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
Zest of 1 orange, finely minced
1/2 cup plumped dried cranberries, finely minced
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, finely minced
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
Cinnamon Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Horseradish and
Dijon Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white horseradish
(a zesty condiment for beef or ham sandwiches)
Lemon
Maple Butter
4 tablespoons unsalted, softened butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons good quality maple syrup
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
Process all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to a covered container and chill.
Lemon and Herb Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced
1 teaspoon each, basil and oregano
Garlic and Dill Butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely minced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely minced
Bittersweet Chocolate Orange Butter
3 ounces bittersweet (at least 70% cocoa) chocolate, chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, slightly chilled
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons orange zest, finely grated
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Optional: 1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachio nuts, chopped into halves and quarters
Melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl on low at one minute intervals, stirring until just melted and smooth. Allow melted chocolate to cool enough to touch. Place cooled butter in a medium mixing bowl and using the paddle attachment with an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy, scraping down sides. Beat in the cooled chocolate, cocoa, zest and sugar, scraping sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed to incorporate all ingredients. Stir in nuts if desired. Scrape into serving dish or storage container and cover tightly. Serve on toast, biscuits, pancakes, French toast, waffles, bread pudding or banana bread.
Bourbon Cherry Butter with Orange
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 cup dried cherries or cherry flavored dried cranberries
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons orange zest, freshly grated
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, or to taste
Optional: 1 tablespoon orange or angostura bitters or additional bourbon
In a small bowl, soak the cherries in bourbon, stirring occasionally, until bourbon is almost absorbed, 2 to 12 hours. Place butter in a medium mixing bowl and with an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle) or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy, scraping sides often. Add the soaked cherries, zest, sugar and, if desired, bitters or additional bourbon. Beat well, scraping bowl sides as needed. Transfer to storage or serving dish and cover tightly until served with pork, ham, duck and turkey or tossed with carrots, beets or sweet potatoes or as a spread on bread, rolls or muffins.
Buttercreams
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (OR 1 1/2 tsp almond, orange or rum extract)
4 Cups powdered sugar
Combine butter and cream cheese in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until smooth. Add vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low, gradually adding powdered sugar, until well mixed. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into 1-inch balls, place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets, cover loosely and refrigerate until firm (2 hours or overnight).
For coating:
1 (12-ounce) package (2 cups) real semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 TBLS shortening
Melt chocolate chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth (3 to 4 minutes). Dip buttercreams into chocolate mixture using toothpicks; lettin excess chocolate drip off. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to set. Makes five dozen candies.
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