Butter Basics

Choose the Right Butter for the Job

When it comes to choosing the right butter for your cooking and baking, the first thing you want to look for is real Butter, which contains only all-natural ingredients. But even when you narrow it down to the good stuff, there are still many options out there. This butter basics primer will help you navigate the best butter for the job.

• Salted Butter

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  Also known as sweet cream butter, salted butter has added salt because it allows for a slightly longer shelf life. Some salted butters are made with sea salt, such as fleur de sel. Regardless, salted butters are best for using as a condiment or spread. They are not recommended for baking as added salt can affect the rising action of baked goods in recipes that use yeast.

  

• Unsalted Butter

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  This is your best bet for cooking and baking. For many recipes, it is recommended that you bring the butter to room temperature first so that it better incorporates with other ingredients. The exception is pie crust, for which cold butter is a must. If you wish, you can season unsalted butter yourself to meet your personal taste preferences when using it as a topping or spread.

  

• Clarified Butter

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  When butter is melted and made clear by separating and discarding the milk solids and water, it makes the perfect dipping sauce for shellfish and other seafood. But because it will not burn at high temperatures, it is also a good choice for frying and sautéing.

  

• Cultured Butter

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  Made from cultured cream, cultured butter has a rich, complex flavor. It is ideal for baking because the lower moisture content produces flakier pastries and fluffier cakes.

  

• European-Style Butter

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  This old-fashioned variation is made from cream that is churned more slowly and for a longer time. It has a butterfat content of at least 82 percent—higher than standard butter. The increased amount of butterfat is beneficial for cooking and baking.

  

• Spreadable Butter

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  A touch of canola oil is what makes this butter easy to spread on baked goods, waffles and more. It can be used as a condiment directly from the refrigerator with no need for softening. You should avoid using it for baking however, as the canola oil can alter the final result.

  

• Whipped Butter

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  After it is churned, nitrogen gas is whipped into butter to create this soft, spreadable butter.

  

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Butter is Always Best

There are a lot of choices on the supermarket shelf, but if you take the time to look at the ingredient label, you’ll find that Butter is made with all-natural ingredients. From the time the milk leaves the farm, there’s nothing added other than maybe a little salt for freshness. It’s a pure, all natural farm to table food that you can feel good about serving your family.

But that’s not the only reason you should use real Butter. Its all-natural ingredient profile makes it the ideal choice for cooking and baking. Not only does it deliver irreplaceable flavor, it’s what makes sauces rich, crusts flaky, cakes moist and cookies crave-able. If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right, so never accept less than the best in your recipes.

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Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Where Butter Comes From

There aren’t a lot of all natural, whole foods as pure as real Butter. Take a firsthand look at how butter is made as you watch the journey it takes from farm to table. And how when it comes to ingredients, butter is as real as it gets.