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This week we take a look at the workhorse of the pantry: butter. For many, butter is a daily staple and plays a part in almost every meal. Olive oil is just fine, but there are situations where only butter will do. I don’t consider myself having a sweet tooth, but rather a taste for butter flavor. I prefer a buttery pancake with a touch of sweetness, adore a plain croissant, and have been known to enjoy a bit of oatmeal with my butter in the morning. I grew up in the south where buttered, yeasty bread rolls were a special treat at suppertime. If I’m by myself, a meal of buttered noodles is my guilty pleasure. My Irish husband requires bread spread with butter and jam for his tea, and I happily oblige. All this butter love has barely scratched the surface of the important role butter plays in cooking and baking. How do we understand butter and it’s place in the pantry? By looking at technique.<\/p>\n
Give me butter spread on freshly baked bread and I’m in heaven. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best. However, I think spring is the perfect time for compound butters- it’s not so hot that butter is a turn off, and we are craving all the flavors that go so nicely in compound butters, like fresh herbs, garlic, or honey. A recent article in Design Sponge<\/a> highlighted compound butters, as well as the April issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Compound butters are delicious spread on sandwich bread, melted atop freshly grilled meats and roasted fish, and served with spring vegetables like broccoli or asparagus. I use a compound herb butter to rub under the skin of a roasting chicken for a moist, tender bird. Compound butters will keep for a week in the fridge or can be frozen.<\/p>\n Adding butter to sauces makes them glossy and smooth. For example, a beurre blanc is an emulsion created by whisking cold diced butter into hot pan juices from seared meats or fish. A roux is softened butter combined with flour and then added to gravy, soups, and sauces as a thickening agent.<\/p>\n While I use oil for fried eggs, I always use butter for scrambled eggs. Butter gives grilled cheese a beautifully brown and sweet crust. It can also be used to cook thin cuts of meat (scaloppine) quickly over medium-high heat. However, butter has a relatively low smoke point, so it’s best to use clarified butter for this type of cooking. It’s easy to make clarified butter<\/a> at home by heating the butter on the stove top and separating the milk solids from the butter. Milk solids are what causes butter to burn at high temperatures. Clarified butter will keep in the fridge for 1 month.<\/p>\nButter Enriches Sauces<\/h4>\n
Butter to Saut\u00e9 and Fry<\/h4>\n
Butter in Baking<\/h4>\n