Questions tagged [butter]

A dairy product made by churning milk to separate the butterfat from other milk components. Questions may involve butter either as an ingredient or as a final dish.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
9 votes
5 answers
6k views

Did I make butter, or something else?

Tonight I tried to make some butter from some raw cows milk. I followed the instructions here, and let the cream I skimmed off a gallon of milk sit for about 24 hours to "culture." It didn't really ...
Flimzy's user avatar
  • 2,774
9 votes
2 answers
5k views

Why didn't my clarified herb butter solidify?

I was making spicy clarified butter but wanted to avoid the flecks of red or black that can throw off the color of a dish. I decided to steep some basil and a few other herbs with an habanero in the ...
wootscootinboogie's user avatar
9 votes
4 answers
16k 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 ...
SuperElectric's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
9k 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 ...
justkt's user avatar
  • 13.2k
8 votes
10 answers
53k views

Cutting cold butter into flour - which mixer attachment should I use?

I have a kitchenaid 6 quart stand mixer and a large family of nine. At the moment we're using coupons to buy biscuit dough, but I wanted to look at the time and effort to make our own. Not just for ...
Adam Davis's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
2k views

How much is a "round" of butter? This is in an old pound cake recipe

I have a very old pound cake recipe that calls for a “round” of butter. How much is that? I have no idea.
annie b.'s user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
1k 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?
zachary's user avatar
  • 2,409
8 votes
8 answers
27k views

Can I substitute olive oil for butter/shortening in pie crust?

I was making a pie the other day -- a mock apple pie*, to be exact, which is unusual enough. But I came up short on butter and don't keep any shortening stocked in my kitchen. Desperate, I searched ...
TheSpatulaQueen's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
2k 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 ...
user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Using A Combination of Ghee and Unsalted Butter for Croissants

Novice baker here. I live in South Africa, where it is difficult to find European style butter and the one we do have is exorbitantly expensive, around 50 euros for 500g. The closest to European style ...
Chamkey's user avatar
  • 83
8 votes
3 answers
329 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.
user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
4k views

Do milk and butter not work in place of cream for whipping, and why?

I’ve seen claims that, while you can replace heavy cream with the proper proportions of milk and butter in recipes that don’t require whipping, the mixture will not form stiff peaks when whipped, even ...
Jon Purdy's user avatar
  • 205
8 votes
5 answers
8k 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 ...
wilhil's user avatar
  • 393
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can you use the butter from frying onions to make the Bechamel for Soubise sauce?

Traditionally, onions are slowly braised in butter before being drained, puréed and added to a pre-prepared Bechamel sauce to make Soubise sauce. This seems a terrible waste of flavour, if you were to ...
Greybeard's user avatar
  • 5,906
8 votes
1 answer
9k views

What's the proper procedure of making ghee?

I'm often making ghee for my cooking. However, I've never seen how it's done, I've only read how to do it, I'm having some doubts about its preparation. Should heat butter slowly or fast? I saw both ...
Petr's user avatar
  • 213
8 votes
3 answers
6k 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 ...
boxed-dinners's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
524 views

Can you create brown butter directly from heavy cream?

The other day I made cookies with homemade brown butter. I first churned the butter from heavy cream, separating the butterfat from buttermilk. Then I took the remaining butter and melted it in a pan ...
ryan's user avatar
  • 183
8 votes
1 answer
34k views

button mushrooms turned red while frying in butter

I fried fresh sliced button mushrooms in butter over low heat with no other ingredients. After a short while dark red areas started to appear on the sides of several slices. I never noticed anything ...
jshlke's user avatar
  • 225
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is there any substitute for butter (or oil) on puff pastry?

I tried to create puff pastry. For medical reasons I should minimize the fat on my recipe. Puff pastry is mainly made by 3 important ingredients, flour, water, and fat (butter or oil). Unfortunately, ...
Piko Monde's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
43k views

What quantity of coconut oil should be substituted for butter in a brownie mix?

I want to substitute coconut oil for the butter in a brownie mix but I don't know how much to use. The recipe calls for 3/4 stick of melted butter. How much coconut oil should I use?
Clara's user avatar
  • 71
7 votes
5 answers
2k views

Are garlic butter and garlic oil interchangeable?

When eating something like crab, garlic butter seems to be a Western thing while garlic oil is Asian. Is it just a personal preference thing, or does it matter which one you use? Note: Garlic butter ...
Pyrolistical's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
481 views

Achieve butter-like aroma in a vegan recipe

I am planning to cook a French bœuf bourguignon, but a vegan version. Apart from the wine and the herbs, I recall that the butter had quite an impact on the vegetarian version that I previously made. ...
noumenal's user avatar
  • 265
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why use clarified butter in a bearnaise

I love Bearnaise. I use a recipe that calls for clarified butter, but why just not normal melted butter? Is it purely taste? Or is it because filtering the milk solids away changes how the bearnaise ...
Thorst's user avatar
  • 334
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do packet cake mixes get their lightness without creaming butter and sugar?

I don't get it. Do they have some chemical leaveners in them or something? I just had a slice tonight and upon complementing the chef on its lightness, was told it was a packet mix—just add ...
jontyc's user avatar
  • 4,096
7 votes
1 answer
2k 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 ...
KatieK's user avatar
  • 7,930
7 votes
2 answers
478 views

Is there a way to re-crystallize or temper goat butter?

I received a small tub of goat butter for Christmas, and unfortunately I left it too close to my stove last night, and the whole thing melted. (just the butter, nor the plastic obviously.) I read that ...
kitukwfyer's user avatar
  • 5,204
7 votes
2 answers
19k views

How does substituting Butter for Margarine/Shortening affect the Recipe

I know that Margarine / Shortening are usually softer than butter, but what other differences are there? Can I just melt the butter and call it good or will this effect my final Product? I have seen ...
That One Actor's user avatar
7 votes
6 answers
93k views

Adding melted butter to cold milk in baking

I've seen a lot of recipes, particularly for things like quick breads, that call for combining melted butter with milk and eggs before mixing with dry ingredients. Of course, if the milk and eggs are ...
Anthm's user avatar
  • 660
7 votes
2 answers
11k views

What will happen to my cake if I don't cream the butter enough?

I am preparing for a cake decorating party for some 8-year-olds and was testing a simple butter cake recipe. I made a small-ish batch of batter (just over a stick of butter, just under 1/2 lb of ...
Ward - Trying Codidact's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
538 views

Is this 'browned butter'?

I just tried browning butter. I placed the butter in a saucepan and heated it. It melted, then started to bubble and sizzle. Once the sizzling subsided, brown particles started forming in the butter. ...
user2249626's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
598 views

Is there a better way to wash home-made butter?

Freshly-churned butter has to be washed clean of residual buttermilk to keep well. The only method I've seen recommended is to massage the butter by hand in changes of iced water. This can be quite ...
Robin Betts's user avatar
  • 1,895
6 votes
2 answers
941 views

Why was our garlic butter made in France, much nicer than garlic butter in England?

We're stumped so we thought we'd come and ask the experts. Last weekend we were in Paris, and bought what we think was normal unsalted butter (from a marche franprix) and (again as far as we are ...
Pez Cuckow's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
3k views

I want to substitute liquid oil with a dry product

I would like to know if there is a dry food product available that is a good substitute for vegetable oil or butter. I want to package dry mixes that I can take camping with me where hopefully all I ...
Tammy's user avatar
  • 61
6 votes
4 answers
715 views

Why is there no sweet (as in 'with sugar') butter?

I understand salted butter can be useful is some situations, but why there's no such thing as "sugar butter" that can be sold in stores? I mean, there is sweet milk (concentrated, for instance) and ...
anol's user avatar
  • 321
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

What temp is considered “room” temperature? Our home is at 68-69°F. If the butter is very soft and the flour and sugar are warmer does that help?

What is considered room temperature? Should the butter be quiet soft and the flour and sugar warmer than 65-69°F degrees (18--20°C)?
Valerie's user avatar
  • 61
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

Does the "Game of Thrones" browned butter pie crust technique make any sense?

In yesterday's Game of Thrones episode ("Stormborn"), Arya Stark compliments the young character Hot Pie's most recent pie. He replies The secret is browning the butter before making the dough. ...
1006a's user avatar
  • 381
6 votes
4 answers
6k views

What is "pastry butter"?

I was recently watching a television show where a reference was made to "pastry butter". This was in the context of making croissants saying that normal butter was incorrect type to use. After ...
404 User not found's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
8k views

creaming butter vs adding to flour in cakes

Most cake recipes call for creaming the butter and sugar first, then adding liquids and flour alternately . Recently I have seen several recipes instructing to add cool butter in small chunks to the ...
Pam Rollins's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
339 views

What is milk product in cocoa butter?

What does "may contain milk" mean on the side of my cocoa butter container? Is it not pure cocoa butter?
l b's user avatar
  • 63
6 votes
1 answer
185 views

How do egg whites help to keep fats inside a cake?

Recently I tried to bake a cake (Caprese) from: ground almonds butter dark chocolate sugar eggs I melted chocolate and butter, mixed all of this with whipped sugar yolks, and then... totally screwed ...
ZloeAloe's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
681 views

Why do choc chip cookies change with different temperature butter?

My name is Chris and my daughters name is Maggie (9yr) She’s doing s science fair project and we have a question we need help with. Her science project is baking choc chip cookies 3 different ways to ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 61
6 votes
2 answers
5k views

What to do when too much butter added to my puff pastry dough?

I made puff pastry dough, but I figured I've added too much butter to it and now that it is in the oven, the butter has melted and covered the dough! (I need your advice for the next time) What should ...
Gigili's user avatar
  • 1,773
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why would a recipe call for pouring boiling butter into egg-whites?

I made a sponge cake using a recipe from an old cookbook and at one point it told me to melt and boil butter and pour the boiling butter into beaten egg-whites, let sit for a minute and then mix ...
jkadlubowska's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
5k 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 ...
squillman's user avatar
  • 775
6 votes
1 answer
4k views

What is the foam that comes out when making clarified butter?

When making clarified butter you get a bottom layer of milk solids, the center layer of clarified butter, and the top layer of foam. What is in the foam? Does it have any uses?
Ceribia's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
2 answers
4k views

Water content of salted butter

It seems to be common knowledge among bakers that salted butter has a higher water content than unsalted*. How much higher? And if there's a different amount of water, why does this nutritional data ...
Cascabel's user avatar
  • 58.2k
5 votes
13 answers
39k views

Getting butter from yogurt

The common way for taking butter from milk is to shake the cream captured from milk. There is also a traditional way to shake yogurt to separate butter. However, I was unable to find any instruction ...
Googlebot's user avatar
  • 1,232
5 votes
4 answers
672 views

What is the best way to chip your butter when making biscuits?

I love biscuits and have made many. The one thing that gets me is cutting the butter. I have used several different approaches with varying degrees of success. What works for you.
Jared Payne's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
15k views

Substitute double cream for butter?

I have a lot of leftover double cream and I was wondering if I could substitute it instead of butter in a biscuit recipe? I know it's a different consistency, so there would have to be some ...
hlh3406's user avatar
  • 183
5 votes
1 answer
796 views

Butter in baking

Butter has a ridiculously low smoke point (120 to 150 °C). Cooking in burnt oil is not cool. However, it seems difficult to find baked dishes targeted at below 150°C.. Is butter acceptable in the oven?...
Vorac's user avatar
  • 399

1
2
3 4 5
7