Let's talk about BUTTER!

Let's Talk About BUTTER! 

We have all done it. Found an amazing recipe that you just HAVE to try! It calls for butter and we reach for that tub of margarine. I never knew how much of a difference it made until recently! 

We all know the infamous Paula Deen swears by butter. We know the health risks using butter vs. margarine. Margarine is just so much cheaper too! However, if you are baking, or plan to make browned butter sauce, or anything like that, use real butter. The flavor alone is worth it. Not to mention in your baked goods, the difference in texture is astounding! 

When you are buying real butter, you need to know a few things. First, the more expensive the butter, the better it is! It's not just a brand name thing bringing prices up. The butter is just that much better quality. If you can buy in bulk, or find a sale, BUY IT! You can freeze your butter with no issues. Biggest problem you will have is waiting for it to soften. I use most of my butter frozen, but more on that in a moment. If you are going for success.... go with real butter. 

A few tips on working with real butter.

As I said, I use most of my butter frozen. When I am making biscuits, or anything that calls for butter that is solid, I grate the frozen butter. This is especially wonderful for buttermilk biscuits, puff pastry, anything you need to make a "meal" to make. 

When melting butter for recipes, melt it slowly. This keeps the butter from being heated. You just want to melt it, not warm it. Let it sit out a few mins if it does get heated. There is nothing worse than the butter being too hot and cooking the egg in your brownies.
If a recipe calls for "soft butter" that means half butter half shortening. If you are using margarine, you should still use some shortening, it helps with texture and consistency. 

If making flavored butter, use real butter only.

I have fallen in love with real butter. Sure it costs more, but the difference in my cooking is simply amazing!