Compound butter is a flavored butter that can be used as an alternative to sauce or to add flavor to a meal. It is easy to make at home and can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. The butter is blended with ingredients, chilled, and can be shaped into different forms. It should be used within a few days or frozen for up to a month.
Compound butter is butter that has been mixed with a seasoning to make it more flavorful. It is often served with steak, seafood and vegetables as an alternative to a sauce or to add zest to a meal and comes in both savory and sweet varieties. While some stores sell compound butter, it’s also very easy to make at home. Using this type of butter at a dinner party or event can make food look more sophisticated and requires very little effort. Cream cheese can also be flavored the same way, with cream cheese and fresh herbs being a classic spread for bagels and breads.
To make compound butter, the butter is softened to room temperature and then the ingredients are blended. The finished butter is placed back in the refrigerator to cool, and some cooks make it into a log or block for easy slicing. It can also be formed into balls or other shapes and chilled to make an attractive side dish. Your imagination is the only limit to buttercream fillings. Typically, unsalted butter is used, with cooks adding salt to taste.
When cooked ingredients such as roasted garlic are used, they should be allowed to cool completely. Stirring hot ingredients into the butter could cause them to separate, rendering the butter useless. Fresh ingredients such as herbs can also be blanched quickly to reduce the chance of bacterial contamination, but should be allowed to cool and dry before using. As a general rule, compound butter should be used within a few days of making it or frozen for up to a month. Using an acid like lemon will also help preserve the butter.
Salted compound butter can be spread on bread, served alongside meats, or tossed with vegetables, pastas, and anything else the cook can dream up. Some ingredients that can be used in salted compound butter include coriander, parsley, red pepper, paprika, lime, lemon, dill, garlic, anchovies, mustard, dried mushrooms, red wine reduction and shallots, tarragon, thyme, and other fresh herbs. Lemon dill butter pairs beautifully with many seafood dishes, while tarragon butter is a classic French side dish.
Sweet butters can be spread on baked goods such as morning toast, scones or biscuits. Honey, maple, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves can be used in these butters. Some cooks also like to bake these butters into things like cinnamon rolls and sweet breads, as the infused butter will make the overall dish sweeter and more flavorful.
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