Picture of maple butter (left), garlic & herb butter (middle), and honey butter (right). Lauren Edmonds/Insider A supply shortage prompted the cost of butter to spike ahead of the holidays. Bakers can create butter from scratch with just heavy cream.
Here are three ways to add flavor to homemade butter using honey, maple syrup, and more. I made butter from scratch last month after learning that prices spiked before the holiday season. Insider’s Lauren Edmonds holding her homemade butter.
Lauren Edmonds/InsiderI always assumed that making butter from scratch was arduous, but I was very wrong. Last month, I created homemade butter with just one quart of heavy cream and a stand mixer. The process was primarily hands-off and took 20 minutes.
I never considered making butter, being content with store brands, but The Wall Street Journal reported in September that butter was in decline in the United States. The WSJ reported that ongoing labor shortages at processing plants and lower milk production on US dairy farms sparked the lowest amount of butter in US cold storage facilities since 2017. According to CNBC, which cited data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of butter rose 27%, and margarine surged 44% from September 2021 to September 2022.
After finding success with salted butter, I decided to try three more flavors to see how they compared. I made three separate flavors: honey butter, garlic and herb butter, and maple butter. Picture of maple butter (left), garlic & herb butter (middle), and honey butter (right).
Lauren Edmonds/InsiderEach recipe took more than 30 minutes, with about 20 minutes to make the butter and another 10 to mix the specific ingredients. I used 16-ounce cartons of heavy cream, measuring around ½ cup of butter. While I used my own measurements, I used Eat This, Not That as a reference for the recipes.
For honey butter, you’ll only need two ingredients. Each recipe takes around 30 minutes to make. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderTo make honey butter, you’ll need the following: Homemade butter (made with heavy cream)1 ½ tbsp honey.
If you’re unsure how to make homemade butter, my previous story on making it from scratch includes a full explanation. To summarize, pour heavy cream into a stand mixer and allow the liquid to mix until the butter separates from the buttermilk. Then, rinse the butter in ice water, and voilà.
After making the butter, put it in a large bowl and add honey. Mix the butter and honey together in a large bowl. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderOnce the butter has solidified and been rinsed in ice water, place it in a large bowl to mix in added flavors with a spoon.
I used 1 ½ tablespoons of honey, but feel free to use more or less depending on your personal tastes. Then, wrap the honey butter in cling wrap or place it in a container to refrigerate. Do this with each butter flavor.
I decided to use cling wrap this time around. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderEither method works for storage. For the garlic and herb butter, you’ll need at least five ingredients.
Feel free to add whatever herbs you want to the butter. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderTo make garlic and herb butter, you’ll need the following: Homemade butter 1 tbsp minced garlic1 tsp finely chopped rosemary1 tsp finely chopped parsley1 tsp finely chopped thyme. As mentioned before, feel free to add more or less of each ingredient for personal taste.
The garlic and herb recipe requires prep work for the ingredients. From left to right: minced garlic, chopped parsley, and chopped rosemary. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderMince the garlic and finely chop the rosemary, parsley, and thyme.
Make sure to get the ingredients as thin as possible, so you’re not biting into large chunks. While I needed to chop the parsley, garlic, and rosemary, I opted to use the dried thyme I had in the cabinet. Mix the butter and added ingredients together.
A before-and-after photo shows the garlic and herb butter. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderTry to evenly distribute the ingredients throughout the butter, so one portion isn’t all garlic or all herbs. Refrigerate the butter once done.
For maple butter, you’ll need three ingredients. The maple butter includes a dash of cinnamon. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderTo make maple butter, you’ll need the following: Homemade butter1 tbsp maple syrup¼ tsp cinnamon.
Mix the syrup, cinnamon, and butter together in a large bowl. The maple butter, unlike the honey butter, uses at least two ingredients. Lauren Edmonds/InsiderMake sure the maple syrup and cinnamon are thoroughly mixed throughout the butter.
Then, store the butter and refrigerate it. I enjoyed all three, but one recipe stood a head above the rest. My favorite iteration was the garlic & herb butter (middle).
Lauren Edmonds/InsiderI was very impressed by the garlic and herb butter. I’m a fan of garlic, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise, but I was shocked at how much I liked it on toast. The two flavors that stuck out to me were minced garlic and rosemary, which didn’t taste too overwhelming since I used unsalted butter.
The maple butter took second place for me because it was sweet, but not enough to cause a headache. The cinnamon added another fun dimension to the recipe, and together the two ingredients created a light, airy topping. Although the honey butter is third, it has less to do with the flavor and more with the fact that something has to come last.
The honey butter was the sweetest of my three flavors, making it perfect for those with a sweet tooth. Of the three, I’d definitely make the garlic and herb butter again with an added tablespoon of garlic for good measure. Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/ways-to-upgrade-homemade-butter-taste-test-2022-11
