Julia Child once said \u201cWith enough butter, anything is good.\u201d But good butter makes everything even better, says Rinske de Jong, co-owner of Working Farms Dairy, who uses a 75-year-old Danish steel churn to turn the cream from her cows\u2019 organic, grass-fed milk into rich, edible, spreadable gold. Read on to find out what makes it so good \u2014 and answers to all your other pressing butter questions.<\/p>\n
What the heck is butter made of anyway?<\/p>\n
Short answer: Mostly fat. The process starts by separating out the high-fat cream from fresh milk. The cream is then churned, which alters the membranes around its milkfat droplets, allowing them to stick together and form a semi-solid (butter) while the liquid (buttermilk) drains out. More specifically, butter consists of about 80 to 90 percent fat, plus some liquid and milk solids.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the difference between various kinds of butter?<\/p>\n
Think of butter like orange juice; there\u2019s pulpy, low-pulp, no-pulp, concentrate, fresh-squeezed, etc. Deciding which is best for you comes down to personal preference, what you\u2019re using it for and, often, budget. Here\u2019s a rundown:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Unsalted or sweet cream<\/strong><\/p>\n This is standard, no frills, workhorse butter you can use for anything. That said, big differences in flavor and quality exist. For example, small-batch butter from the milk of grassfed cows like at Working Cows Dairy have a healthier ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s and other nutrients that give it a deeper flavor and rich color, de Jong says. (Her butter is almost orange due to high levels of beta-carotene that come from the cows\u2019 grassy diet). It may also have slightly higher levels of butterfat, giving it a richer flavor. Supermarket sticks, on the other hand, are paler and milder, containing around 80 percent butterfat.<\/p>\n \u2022 Salted butter<\/strong><\/p>\n Just like unsalted, but with salt added for flavor. If you like butter on toast\u2014or anything else that centers butter \u2014 salted may be your jam. That said, there\u2019s no set standard for the amount of salt added, so some brands may taste very salty and others less. For that reason, stick with unsalted for cooking and baking (unless a recipe specifies otherwise). But you can absolutely use them interchangeably, especially if you\u2019re not one to micromanage flavor. \u201cThere’s really not enough salt for it to make a big difference in a dish,\u201d says Kelsey Barnard Clark, chef and owner of KBC restaurant in Dothan, Alabama. \u201cI\u2019ve had people ask during cooking classes if salted is okay, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Girl, we\u2019re about to add like 20 tablespoons of salt to this dish, so that little bit\u2019s not gonna matter.\u2019\u201d If you\u2019re sensitive, let your taste buds guide you and reduce any other added salt.<\/p>\n \u2022 European butter<\/strong><\/p>\n Churned longer to reach a butterfat minimum of 82 percent, this is your fancy, or gourmet butter; it tastes richer and spreads more easily. It\u2019s pricier than standard sticks, so if you\u2019re on a budget, save it for any use where butter plays a starring role (i.e. butter cookies, on bread, etc.). American brands have started selling \u201cEuropean-Style,\u201d products, which offers a more affordable option.<\/p>\n Top stories, delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\nSign up to Kingsport Daily Digest!<\/h2>\n