Butter: types, storage, and use

When lactic acid bacteria are added to cream, the result is butter. Of course, the idea that butter is made with bacteria might not be very pleasant to hear. But it's so delicious!

Butter comes in salted and unsalted varieties. It's salted to preserve its freshness longer and to impart a distinctive flavor. However, the flavor also depends on the breed of cows whose milk is used to produce the butter.

Butter contains 80% fat, so health-conscious people prefer to use lower-fat products instead. However, low-fat butter is not suitable for baking, so read labels and packaging carefully when purchasing.

In some recipes, butter can be replaced with vegetable oil—for example, sunflower oil, which is ideal for those with milk and dairy intolerances. Cakes baked with it stay soft and fresh longer, but retain the rich flavor of vegetable oil.

Storage

Butter should be stored in the refrigerator in a special butter dish or foil. Keep it away from strong-smelling foods, as it quickly absorbs other odors.

Culinary uses

If you are going to use oil in cooking shortcrust pastry for baking a pie, tarta or quiche, it should be taken straight from the refrigerator. If you are cooking cupcakeThe butter should be removed from the refrigerator a few hours before use to allow it to warm up and soften. Only then can it be easily whipped with sugar.

Butter can be mixed with herbs and spices, frozen, then sliced and served with grilled beef steak or used as a spread on slices of bread. You can find more on our website. recipes for oil mixtures.

You can also cook it this way brown butter, which is very easy to prepare; it simply needs to be fried until brown. Because butter contains milk, it will acquire a brown color and nutty flavor during prolonged cooking. This butter can be used in various recipes that require a nutty flavor. For example, brown butter can be added to mashed potatoes.

The photo below shows what color properly browned butter should look like: on the left is overcooked, on the right is browned properly.