Butter

• Baking: Using butter in baking creates tender, flaky pastries, cookies, and cakes. Creaming butter with sugar incorporates air, resulting in light and airy textures, vital for recipes like butter cookies or vanilla cake. Explore recipes that highlight the butter's flavour in baked goods, such as shortbread cookies or madeleines.
• Sautéing & Frying: Sautéing vegetables or frying proteins in butter enhances their flavor with a rich, nutty note. The high fat content of butter allows for even browning and a delicious, caramelized crust. For better browning and high-heat cooking, use clarified butter or ghee, which have a higher smoke point.
• Sauce Making: Butter is a key ingredient in many classic sauces, such as beurre blanc, hollandaise, and brown butter sauce (beurre noisette). Its emulsifying properties help to bind sauces together, creating a smooth and velvety texture. Incorporate herbs and aromatics into melted butter for compound butters to elevate sauces and spreads.
• Spreading: Spread butter on bread, toast, or crackers for a simple yet satisfying snack or appetizer. Enhance the flavor by adding herbs, spices, or roasted garlic to create flavored butter spreads for special occasions or daily enjoyment. Learn how to make compound butters for a delightful culinary experience.
• Enriching Dishes: Add a pat of butter to finish soups, stews, and risottos for added richness and creaminess. Swirling butter into cooked pasta elevates the dish by creating a light sauce that coats the noodles evenly. Finish your vegetable purees with butter to create a luxurious texture.

• Good source of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, essential for various bodily functions.
• Provides conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which may support weight management and overall health.
• Contains butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that promotes gut health and reduces inflammation.
• Can contribute to satiety, helping to control appetite and manage food intake.
• A source of healthy saturated fats that can play a role in hormone production and cell function.

To maintain butter's freshness, store it properly depending on your usage. For short-term storage (1-2 weeks), keep butter in its original wrapper or an airtight container in the refrigerator. For longer storage (1-3 months), wrap tightly in freezer wrap and freeze. Softened butter can be kept at room temperature for a day or two, but this is not recommended for long-term storage due to potential spoilage. Avoid storing butter near strong-smelling foods to prevent odor absorption.