Questions involving butter as an ingredient or as a final dish.
4
votes
4answers
879 views
Why do different brands of butter taste different?
This has been playing on my mind for a while and I thought it was time to ask!
In any supermakert, there is usually at least 5+ regular brands, then 3-4 supermarket brands. In addition to some ...
3
votes
1answer
352 views
Butter alternative for making breads
I'm interested in making dairy-free Banana nut bread. What can I use as an alternative to butter? I'm aware that there is soy and coconut milk as alternatives to cow's milk, but I'm not immediately ...
4
votes
2answers
921 views
Why do scrambled/fried eggs stick less when cooked with butter instead of oil?
Whenever I'm doing scrambled or fried eggs, I use butter and a regular frying pan (aluminium I think) without any special non-stick coating. They never stick to the pan, it's as if they're floating on ...
14
votes
4answers
3k views
What's the purpose of clarifying butter?
Seriously, if it's just an ingredient in something larger, is it going to make a difference if the butter's been clarified or not?
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Replacing butter with olive oil
This is more of a food preparation/health question since it's after the food has been cooked. Recently I've been substituting butter with olive oil. For example, baked potatoes, instead of butter and ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the expected shelf life of salted butter?
I have just purchased 250g of Lescure salted butter (Beurre Demi-Sel) with a best before date of 23 July 2011. Today is the 2nd July 2011. I thought that butter has a shelf life of months, not 21 ...
4
votes
2answers
823 views
Adding butter to pizza recipe
I like to experiment with my pizza recipe, and I love the taste of butter.
Right now my pizza dough recipe is something like this:
2 cups of flower
3/4 cup of water
1 ts of yeast
2 ts of ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Use Avocado instead of Butter to bake a cake?
This may sound extravagant, but I have tried a very nice chocolate pudding made of avocado, chocolate, and some other ingredients. You could not tell there was avocado in the pudding and the texture ...
3
votes
1answer
343 views
What happens when butter stops foaming?
Recipes using butter as a fat to sauté sometimes call for you to wait until the foaming has subsided. What causes the foaming? Why do you wait for it to subside? What's the difference if you don't ...
0
votes
1answer
393 views
Where can I find french butter with salt crystals in San Diego? [closed]
Does anyone know where I can buy French butter with salt crystals in it? I will be moving to San Diego North County and would like to know where to shop
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Why is butter usually labeled “Sweet Cream”?
Most (or even all?) butter found at the grocery store is labeled "sweet cream". Is there a distinction between this and another type of cream, and if so, what is it?
5
votes
1answer
207 views
How can I tell when my fat is sufficiently creamed?
When creaming butter or shortening with sugar, how can I tell when it's creamed enough?
With the mixer as low as 3 or 4, even a few minutes of mixing seems excessive.
Also, what are symptoms ...
13
votes
4answers
2k views
What different uses do we assign to salted butter vs. unsalted butter?
What different uses do we assign to salted butter versus unsalted butter?
2
votes
2answers
821 views
Convert to tablespoons of whipped butter
Recipe calls for tablespoons of butter but all I have is whipped butter. What is the conversion?
12
votes
1answer
9k views
Why is there a difference between softened and melted butter when baking?
I once tried to make some cookies and assumed that melted butter would be the same as softened butter. It didn't work out...
Why does it make a difference if you use softened or melted butter? ...
2
votes
2answers
217 views
Made oven ghee - what is the liquid at the top of my cold ghee?
Yesterday I made ghee in the oven by cooking sweet butter for 2hrs in the oven at low temp. I filtered the resulting liquid through cheese cloth and let the resulting clear liquid sit overnight.
...
12
votes
1answer
21k views
Conversion rule: how to switch oil and butter?
Just a moment ago, I was making muffins. The recipe calls for 125ml oil.
As a footnote, it says that you can replace the oil with 125g butter.
Can you do so in every recipe (not just muffins or ...
8
votes
4answers
3k views
converting pure chocolate to “bittersweet” chocolate
A chocolate cookie recipe I'm looking at calls for melting down a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. However, I happen to have a brick of completely unsweetened cooking chocolate in the fridge. Can I ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
What is room temp Butter
Many of my baking recipes call for room temp butter. In general this just means butter soft enough to be creamed with sugar, but is this a specific temp range? My kitchen stays cold enough in winter ...
6
votes
1answer
359 views
Salted butter in toffee
What effects would using salted butter instead of unsalted butter have on a toffee recipe?
I'm using the basic
Equal parts butter and sugar
Heat to soft crack (285 F)
Poor into flat cooking sheet ...
3
votes
5answers
4k views
Non-stick spray substitute
What would be good substitutes for non-stick spray? I've heard butter or vegetable oil. Would something like Crisco work?
20
votes
6answers
1k views
How to prepare butter for baking when time is limited?
From my experience, the best way to use butter when baking is to let it soften to room temperature. However, sometimes one is short on time and must use the microwave to soften the butter. I always ...
3
votes
3answers
13k views
What's the best time and temperature for tenderness when baking red potatoes?
Lately I've gotten into baking Red Potatoes with butter and spices and I've found I enjoy them when they are nice and tender.
What's the best temperature for baking red potatoes for tenderness?
How ...
8
votes
3answers
146 views
Does milk (fat) change in Winter?
I've noticed that, all of a sudden, my chocolate chip cookies are spreading more than usual.
I was wondering if the (organic) butter that I'm using could be affected by the season.
1
vote
1answer
200 views
How does red wine butter impact the flavor of dishes?
I was looking for some ways to use up some older wine and red wine butter came up as a possible use. I see that it is supposedly pretty tasty on many meat-based dishes; how does the wine change the ...
18
votes
2answers
9k views
When baking a cake that calls for butter, should you use salted or unsalted?
I'm baking a cake using a cake mix and extra ingredients. It calls for 5 tbsp of butter, but I'm not sure which to use, salted or unsalted. What difference would it make??
4
votes
2answers
392 views
Browned butter + roasted flour = baking magic?
I love the flavour of browned butter, and I've tried baking sable cookies with roasted flour (delicious). Is there a good reason why, in a bog-standard chocolate chip cookie recipe which calls for ...
3
votes
3answers
3k views
Most efficient technique to prepare milk and butter for proofed yeast?
I have a recipe for rolls where 1/4 cup cubed butter is added to 2 cups of warm milk. The butter / milk mixture is added to proofed active dry yeast, and then a cup or so of flour is added to get the ...
1
vote
8answers
4k views
How to melt butter most conveniently?
Many cake recipes ask to add melted butter and mix it in. In my experience butter needs to be melted to a temperature of about 50-70 degrees Celsius to be soft enough for mixing in. Melting a piece of ...
2
votes
2answers
537 views
Can I still use butter that's been left out for 2 days?
I bought butter in 1/4 sticks (one pound box) and left it in my trunk by accident. It's been very cold 35-50° F (2-10° C) at night/day. It's been 48 hours.
Can I still use it? It's still in it's ...
3
votes
3answers
10k views
what is the difference between butter spread and pure butter?
first of all, basically what is the difference?
what are their uses and is there a big difference? for example is there a case where I should use pure butter for some things but never a spread or ...
11
votes
1answer
26k views
Can I always use butter instead of margarine when baking?
Some recipes says use butter or margarine, some say use butter and some say use margarine. My question is, can I always use butter or does margarine have some property that butter doesn't when baking?
...
14
votes
5answers
3k views
How do you correctly soften butter for spreading?
How do you correctly soften butter for spreading on bread? Is it simply a matter of leaving it at room temperature for a few hours, or do tools like butter conditioners do a better job?
5
votes
1answer
422 views
What mechanism causes a butter crock to function better than other options?
How does a butter crock work better than a plastic or ceramic butter dish?
I can see how the water and stoneware would slow the butter's response to ambient temperature fluctuations. But after a ...
7
votes
2answers
588 views
How do I cook shrimp in butter?
I want to cook shrimp in butter. My problem in the past has been that the butter burns if it gets too hot but the shrimp remains fishy if the butter does not get hot enough. Any advice?
17
votes
2answers
3k views
How does butter remain edible for so long without refrigeration?
My wife and I keep a stick of butter in the cupboard rather than the refrigerator. Even with just the two of us, it rarely lasts very long, but I'd say it may go as long as a week without ...
26
votes
13answers
52k views
How do I butter popcorn without making it soggy?
I've tried buttering my popcorn in the past, and it always turns out inconsistent. A few pieces will be soaked with butter, and others have no butter on them at all.
Perhaps there is a way to get the ...
10
votes
8answers
134k views
Butter substitute for 1 cup of butter for baking
What can I substitute for 1 cup of butter in baking recipes (e.g. cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.)?
I'm looking for something that has less saturated fat (and also doesn't have trans fat).
Update: ...
11
votes
2answers
10k views
Is it safe to eat butter after it has crossed its expiration date? Does butter ever soil in fridge?
I just came back from a long trip and I was cleaning out my fridge, and I noticed that there is an expiration date on the butter. It expired about two months from when I bought it. The butter doesn't ...
11
votes
5answers
10k views
How much is a knob of butter?
I was reading a question here on Food and Cooking and no one seemed to know how much it is. I tried to Google convert it to cups but no dice.
So how much is it?
15
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the butter for in a jam recipe?
I made plum jam at the weekend. The recipe I had (from my Good Housekeeping cookbook) wanted me to simmer the plums in water, add sugar and a knob of butter, then boil until a set was reached.
I ...
11
votes
3answers
5k views
How to know when to stop churning ice cream?
I've got a simple Cuisinart home churn, the kind that uses a frozen bowl rather than a compressor. On a couple of occasions, I'm pretty sure I've overchurned the mix, because it seems to leave a ...
8
votes
3answers
906 views
What's the Effect of Browning Butter
From a taste perspective, I love the nutty flavor of browned butter. From a culinary perspective, I'm curious what the process does to the butter.
I used browned and cooled butter in cookies ...
10
votes
4answers
811 views
Can clarified butter be used for beurre noir?
The first recipe of "The Nero Wolfe Cook Book" by Rex Stout is for Eggs au beurre noir. For the black butter sauce he gives the following instructions:
"In a skillet melt [...] four
tablespoons ...
0
votes
0answers
141 views
I would like to make my own Butter, any techniques? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to make home-made butter?
I would like to make Butter, but live in an NYC apartment so have limited access to large machinery....
11
votes
6answers
8k views
In baking, can yoghurt replace butter?
By baking, I mean cakes / muffins / biscuits.
This is mainly to cut down on fat.
I've tried replacing butter with yoghurt in all of these and the results were OK.
Are there any cases where it's not ...
20
votes
16answers
17k views
Cooking an egg without oil or butter
I like scrambled and fried eggs but the butter or oil probably add unnecessary calories. How can I fry an egg with no butter? I tried in a Teflon pan but it was a mess.
25
votes
2answers
2k views
What is the purpose of creaming butter with sugar in cookie recipes?
I got distracted while assembling the dry ingredients for a cookie recipe and added the sugars, which were supposed to be creamed with the butter first. Fortunately, the sugar was added last and I was ...
5
votes
4answers
526 views
How to make home-made butter?
Has anyone tried it before and how was the result?
What are the steps and what ingredients and kitchen tools do I need?
6
votes
4answers
9k views
Solutions for when heating chocolate and butter doesn't mix well
Yesterday I tried to make brownies that started out with me having to melt unsweetened chocolate with butter in a frying pan on the stove. This did not work well. The chocolate kindof mixed with the ...
