Tillie Doyle
Butter is commonly used to grease pans for baking and cooking. Greasing a pan with butter prevents food from sticking to the pan. When heated, the fat in butter forms a polymer, creating a non-stick surface. Butter also adds flavour to dishes. However, butter has a low smoke point and can burn easily, so it is often mixed with oil to increase its smoke point. The use of butter in cooking and baking is a combination of both functionality and taste.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| When to add butter to the pan | Some sources suggest adding butter to a cold pan to prevent burning. Others suggest adding butter to a hot pan, as it is impossible to tell how hot an empty pan is. |
| Mixtures | Some cooks mix butter with oil to prevent it from burning. |
| Food items | Butter is used for grilling cheese, making omelets, and frying breaded cutlets, fish, and vegetables. |
| High-temperature cooking | Butter can be used for high-temperature cooking if it is clarified, i.e., the milk solids are removed. |
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What You'll Learn
Butter and oil blend
One of the key advantages of using a butter and oil blend is its spreadability. Even when refrigerated, this mixture remains softer and more spreadable than regular butter due to the addition of oil, which prevents hardening. This makes it ideal for spreading on bread, pancakes, muffins, and other baked goods. Additionally, the blend can be used straight from the refrigerator without the need for softening, saving valuable time in the kitchen.
To make your own butter and oil blend at home, you can use an electric hand mixer or a hand mixer to beat butter and slowly incorporate oil and a pinch of salt to taste. The amount of oil added can be adjusted to achieve your desired spreading consistency. For salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt. Transfer the blend to a covered container and store it in the refrigerator.
When cooking with butter and oil blends, it is important to note their specific heat tolerance. While they are suitable for recipes requiring medium-high heat, improper usage, such as applying high heat, can cause the blend to burn. Therefore, it is recommended to start with small quantities to understand its unique taste and heat behaviour. Additionally, always store your butter and oil blend in the refrigerator when not in use, and use clean utensils to avoid cross-contamination, which can extend its shelf life.
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Butter burning
To prevent butter from burning, it is recommended to start with a cold pan when cooking. This way, you can control the temperature and gradually increase it to ensure the butter doesn't burn. Adding butter to a hot pan increases the risk of burning as the temperature may be too high for the butter to handle. However, some chefs suggest that using a hot pan is preferable as it can be challenging to determine the temperature of a cold pan.
Another technique to avoid butter burning is to use a combination of butter and oil. Adding a neutral oil with a higher smoke point, such as canola, grape, or coconut oil, allows you to cook at higher temperatures without burning the butter. This method is suitable for basic cooking methods like frying an egg or fish but may not work for stir-frying.
Additionally, using clarified butter is an option to raise the smoke point of butter. Clarified butter has had the moisture and milk solids removed, allowing it to withstand higher temperatures without burning. However, even with clarified butter, it's important to work quickly and avoid letting the butter sit too long in the pan to prevent burning.
Finally, it's crucial to use the right-sized pan for the amount of food you're cooking. A large pan with excessive exposed surface area can overheat, leading to butter burning. By choosing a pan with the optimal surface area contact, you can ensure that the heat is distributed efficiently and reduce the chances of butter burning.
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Clarified butter
The higher smoke point of clarified butter makes it ideal for searing meats and vegetables without worrying about burning. It also has a longer shelf life than regular butter and can be stored in the refrigerator for months without developing off-flavours. Additionally, clarified butter has a more concentrated and richer flavour. It is an essential ingredient in traditional sauce recipes such as béarnaise and hollandaise and is also used in Ethiopian cuisine in a dish called niter kibbeh.
To make clarified butter at home, start by melting unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once fully melted, increase the heat until it comes to a gentle boil. The milk proteins will form a thin white layer that will expand into a thicker foam. As the butter boils, this foam coating will break apart into smaller clusters. The water in the butter is boiling off, which is what we want. The foam will eventually sink to the bottom of the pot, and the bubbling will calm down, indicating that the water is gone. At this point, pour the remaining butter through a cheesecloth or coffee filter to remove the browned bits.
The most common technique for clarifying butter, often used in restaurants, is to skim the foamy milk proteins from the surface and then ladle off the pure butterfat without collecting any water from the bottom. However, this method may not be ideal for small quantities typically clarified at home. Instead, a method similar to making ghee, an Indian type of clarified butter, can be used. This involves boiling off all the water and allowing the milk proteins to brown before straining them out. Browning the milk proteins adds a subtle nutty flavour to the clarified butter.
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High smoke point oils
When cooking with fats and oils, it is important to select the right one for the job. Oils have different smoke points, which is the temperature at which they begin to smoke. Pushing an oil beyond its smoke point can cause it to ignite, and it will also release toxic compounds and bitter flavours. The smoke point depends on the oil's free fatty acid content, which increases during storage and use. Oils with lower free fatty acid content tend to be more stable and have a higher smoke point.
In general, the more refined an oil is, the higher its smoke point. Refined oils are more processed than unrefined oils, and are extracted using heat, which reduces their natural nutrients, aroma, and flavour. Unrefined oils are extracted through pressure and are known as cold-pressed oils, which retain most of their natural nutrients, aroma, and flavour.
Oils with a high smoke point include:
- Peanut oil
- Canola oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Sunflower oil
- Sesame oil
- Safflower oil
- Macadamia oil
- Avocado oil
- Vegetable oil
- Coconut oil
- Corn oil
- Soybean oil
- Lard
Oils with a low smoke point include:
- Unrefined almond oil
- Flaxseed oil
- Wheat germ oil
- Walnut oil
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Butter for flavour
Butter is a versatile ingredient that can be used to add flavour to a variety of dishes. One way to enhance the flavour of butter is to make compound butter, which involves adding various ingredients to a butter base. This results in a flavoured butter that can be used to elevate the taste of simple dishes.
Compound butters are easy to make and can be stored in the freezer for future use. They are a great way to add intense flavour without requiring a lot of extra effort. The possibilities for compound butter are endless, and cooks can experiment with different ingredients to find their preferred combinations.
Some popular sweet compound butter recipes include strawberry butter, honey butter, and saffron date butter. These can be enjoyed on toast, pancakes, waffles, or other sweet treats. Compound butters can also be served as a spread alongside quick breads or roasted vegetables for an elegant touch.
Savoury compound butters are also a delicious option. Examples include garlic herb butter, which can be used on meat, fish, or warm bread, and scallion dill butter, which pairs well with salmon. Other savoury options include parsley-chive, rosemary-lemon, sage-thyme, and blue cheese butter.
The process of making compound butter typically involves whipping room-temperature butter until it is fluffy, and then incorporating other ingredients. This can be done using a food processor or by hand with a spoon or electric mixer. Once the ingredients are combined, the flavoured butter can be shaped into a log using wax or parchment paper and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until needed.
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Frequently asked questions
It is recommended to put butter on a cold pan so that you don't accidentally burn it. You'll know the pan is well heated when the butter is bubbling.
You can cook eggs, grilled cheese, delicate fish, and vegetables in butter.
It depends on the type of food you are cooking. For example, you can use a blend of butter and oil for a breaded cutlet, but just butter for fish. Butter can make food stick to the pan and oil can be unhealthy at high heats, so it is often recommended to use both.
