Marianne Martinez
Butter can be used when cooking to add flavour and emulsify water in sauces. However, it has a low smoke point and will burn if heated for long enough at a high temperature. Therefore, cooks often use butter at the end of cooking to finish a dish or enrich a sauce, or use it at the beginning for dishes that will be cooked quickly, like grilled cheese. It can also be mixed with oil to increase its smoke point, or clarified to remove the milk solids, which burn at high temperatures.
Do we butter the pan?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| When to use butter | Depends on the dish and cooking method; blend with oil if you don't want to use just butter |
| Blending butter with oil | Provides more heat tolerance |
| Using butter at the beginning of cooking | Adds flavour; separates into fat and milk solids if heated long and hot enough |
| Burning butter | Occurs when heated for too long at high temperatures; milk solids burn |
| Using butter at the end of cooking | Enriches sauces and finishes dishes |
| High-smoke-point butter | Achieved through clarification, which involves removing milk solids |
| Electric stove settings for butter | On a scale of 1 to 10, keep the setting between 3.5 and 4 |
| Dishes suitable for butter | Eggs, steak, grilled cheese, mushrooms, breaded cutlets, fish, sautéed vegetables |
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What You'll Learn
When to use butter at the start of cooking
Butter has a distinctive flavour and is a great ingredient to use at the start of cooking. It is mostly fat, but it also contains around 20% water. When cooking with butter, it is important to consider its taste and texture, as well as the temperature required for the dish. Butter has a low smoke point, so it is best suited for cooking that requires moderate or low heat.
When frying or sautéing, a blend of oil and butter can be used to prevent the butter from burning. Butter is ideal for frying thin pieces of meat or fish where light browning is desired. It is also suitable for cooking vegetables that have been cut into uniform sizes. To pan-fry with butter, preheat your pan over medium heat and add butter. Once it has melted, add your ingredients, stirring and adjusting the heat as needed.
Butter is a key ingredient in classic white sauces, as well as tomato-based and meat-juice-based pan sauces. It provides a desirable mouthfeel, described as smooth and creamy. When making sauces, it is important to avoid heating the butter to the point where it begins to smoke. For a brown butter sauce, heat butter over medium-high heat until the milk solids brown and the water evaporates.
In baking, butter adds a rich flavour and a flaky texture to pastries and cakes. It is also used in the classic French technique of swirling cold butter into a sauce or soup, known as "monter au beurre," which gives it a glossy finish and a rich mouthfeel. However, butter is not suitable for greasing pans as its water content can cause batters to stick.
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When to add butter at the end
Butter is often added at the end of cooking to enhance the flavour of a dish or enrich a sauce. When added towards the end of cooking, the butter will retain more of its own flavour, giving the dish a more pronounced buttery taste. This is especially true when cooking with high heat, as butter has a tendency to burn due to its milk solids.
For example, when cooking steak, it is recommended to add butter at the end of the cooking process, as searing steak in butter can trigger smoke alarms and leave a bitter flavour. Instead, butter can be added at the end to baste the steak, giving it a fragrant, nutty flavour and a beautiful golden-brown colour. Similarly, when cooking mushrooms, butter can be added after the water released from the mushrooms has evaporated, preventing the butter from burning and giving the mushrooms a nice brown butter taste.
Butter is also commonly added at the end of cooking when making sauces. For instance, when making a cheese sauce or gravy, butter is typically melted at the beginning of the process, but additional butter can be added towards the end to enrich the sauce. This technique can also be used when making pasta, as cold butter can be tossed with cooked pasta and a little water to emulsify the water and form a sauce, resulting in a dish with a more obvious buttery taste.
In summary, adding butter at the end of cooking is a great way to enhance the flavour of a dish, particularly when cooking with high heat or when making sauces. By adding butter towards the end, cooks can take advantage of butter's unique flavour and aroma-enhancing properties without worrying about burning the butter.
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Blending butter with oil
Butter is a great option for greasing pans as it offers a great flavor. However, it smokes and turns acrid at a relatively low temperature. On the other hand, most cooking oils have a higher smoke point but lack flavor. By blending butter with oil, you can get the best of both worlds. A mixture of butter and oil will have the flavor of butter and allow you to cook at higher temperatures without the butter burning.
To make a blend of butter and oil, use an electric hand mixer to beat butter and slowly beat in oil and salt. Use a tall bowl to avoid splatter. You can adjust the amount of oil to get the desired consistency. Transfer the mixture to a covered container and keep it refrigerated. Note that the mixture will still start to smoke at the same temperature as pure butter.
You can use a mixture of butter and oil for cooking, baking, and greasing pans. It is especially useful for frying or searing delicate foods like fish, chicken, squash, or eggplant, where the flavor of burnt butter might be overwhelming. For foods like steak and pork chops, pure butter or a mix can be used as the burnt butter accelerates the browning of meat.
Some people also buy store-bought blends of half butter and half olive oil, which can be used for greasing pans for baking cakes.
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How to get the butter flavour at high heat
Butter is a versatile ingredient that can enhance the flavour of various dishes. However, cooking with butter at high heat can be tricky due to its composition, which includes water, fat, and milk solids. The milk solids in butter tend to burn at high temperatures, resulting in an unpleasant bitter taste and appearance. To overcome this issue and achieve a butter flavour at high heat, consider the following methods:
Using Clarified Butter or Ghee
Clarified butter or ghee is pure butter fat that has been separated from the milk solids and water. By removing the milk solids, clarified butter has a higher smoke point—approximately 465 degrees Fahrenheit—and is less likely to burn. To clarify butter, melt it in a microwave or on a stovetop until the milk solids separate and settle at the bottom. Then, carefully pour off the pure butterfat, leaving behind the milk solids. This method is ideal for high-heat cooking and will impart a rich, nutty flavour to your dishes.
Blending with Oil
Another approach is to blend butter with a heat-stable oil, such as olive oil. By adding oil, you raise the overall smoke point of the mixture, preventing the butter from burning. This method allows you to cook at moderately higher temperatures while still enjoying the flavour and aroma of butter. It is a simple and effective way to manage the challenges of cooking with butter alone.
Timing and Temperature Control
When using butter at high heat, timing and temperature control are crucial. For example, when cooking eggs, grilled cheese, or vegetables, you can use butter at the beginning of the cooking process, as these dishes are typically cooked at medium to high heat for a short duration. By adding other ingredients soon after the butter melts, you can prevent it from burning. Additionally, regulating the heat at an even temperature can help prevent butter from burning, allowing you to cook at higher temperatures without issue.
Adding Butter at the End
If you are concerned about butter burning at high heat, you can always add it towards the end of the cooking process. Finishing a dish with butter is a classic technique that adds a burst of flavour and a rich, saucy texture. This method is commonly used in pasta dishes, sauces, and when cooking vegetables. By adding cold butter at the end, you not only enhance the flavour but also emulsify any water present, creating a creamy and decadent sauce.
In summary, achieving a butter flavour at high heat requires some creativity and understanding of butter's composition. By using clarified butter, blending with oil, controlling timing and temperature, or adding butter at the end of cooking, you can enjoy the taste of butter without the risk of burning. Each method has its advantages, and with a little experimentation, you can find the one that best suits your culinary needs.
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How butter emulsifies water
Butter is a natural emulsion, with fat as its continuous phase and water droplets dispersed throughout. This is in contrast to most natural emulsions, which are oil-in-water emulsions. When making sauces, emulsification is the process of forcing two immiscible liquids (such as oil and water) into a suspension.
Beurre monté, or "mounted butter" in French, is a cooking technique that involves whisking chunks of butter into hot water to create an emulsion stable up to 180-190°F. This technique can be used to preserve the emulsification of butter at high temperatures, creating a thin, pale yellow sauce. The process of adding cold butter to a sauce after it has been removed from the heat is called monter au beurre, which produces a similar emulsification effect and adds body and shine to the sauce.
To make a beurre monté, heat 4 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan until it reaches a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and slowly whisk in cubes of cold butter, one tablespoon at a time, until the water and melted butter have emulsified and formed a uniform, creamy, and thick sauce. Keep the sauce warm but below 180°F to prevent the emulsification from breaking.
Butter can also be used to emulsify water in other cooking applications. For example, when cooking mushrooms in butter, the mushrooms release water, preventing the temperature from rising above 212°F until the water evaporates. The butter can then be browned, adding flavour to the dish.
Additionally, butter can be used to finish a dish or enrich a sauce. For instance, it can be added to noodles or pasta to emulsify the water and form a sauce.
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Frequently asked questions
Butter adds flavour to your dish.
You can add butter at the beginning, at the end, or both. It depends on what you're cooking and the temperature you're cooking at. Butter burns at high temperatures, so it's best to use it at medium heat.
Butter will separate into fat and milk solids if heated for long enough at high heat. The solids can burn.
You can use oil or a blend of oil and butter.
