As you have probably noticed, there is a bit of a trend towards trying to make everything healthier. (Could you hear the sarcasm in that?). Thankfully, the medical establishment has changed their mind and now announced that not all fats are from the devil. This is good because butter is vital not only for taste, but for texture. Have you seen Julie & Julia (the movie)? I understand her honoring her idol with butter.
(Note: this is part of an ongoing series of posts covering the fundamentals of baking. For more information, check out the ‘Ingredients,’ ‘Substitutes,’ ‘Cooking 101,’ and ‘Cooking 201’ pages.)
I suspect the hidden cause of many a failed recipe is bad ingredients. Not bad as in spoiled or expired. Bad as in low-quality or the wrong ingredient. I have to admit that when I started cooking- with my sense of thrift- I had a tendency to go for cheaper ingredients. I’ve stopped that practice. And everything tastes better. High-quality and the correct ingredients are the difference between a delicious recipe and a…well, disaster. Or at least a low-quality product. Understanding the differences between ingredients is important too. .
First thing to know, use unsalted butter. I had no idea when I started baking, but recipes will be based on this. And if you like to buy stuff on sale and with a coupon (as I suggest!), butter freezes well for up to 6 months. Also, use stick butter (versus butter sold in tubs). The stuff in tubs has a higher ratio of water and/or air and will affect your final product.
Browned butter: made by cooking butter over low heat until it turns a brown shade.
Clarified butter: butter without the milk solids and water; can be heated to high temperature without going rancid or smoking. Made by heating butter on low temperature, then skimming milk solids and water off top.
European butters: have a slightly lower moisture content. Ideal for buttercream, but might need to adjust recipe.
French butter: made from matured rather than sweet cream. Slightly higher moisture content. {Side note: isn’t France in Europe? Why would these two butters have opposite characteristics?}
Lard: rendered pork fat. Used to get flaky pie crusts. Some cooks (including myself) mix butter and lard in the crust to get flavor and some flakiness.
Margarine: butter substitute made using vegetable oils or animal fats. Don’t use it. Just don’t.
Salted butter: solid fat churned from milk; salt added. Scorches more easily than unsalted butter; often has higher percentage moisture than unsalted butter.
Shortening: a solid fat made from vegetable oil. Sold in both plain and butter-flavored varities. Does not contain water, so if using as a substitute for butter, adjust recipe to include some extra water. (Add 1 & 1/2 tsp. water per 1/4 C. shortening).
Unsalted butter: solid fat churned from milk. It has no added color or salt, and a lower percentage of moisture than salted butter. Ideal choice for baking and cooking.
Whipped butter: 40% air. Do not substitute in baking unless you measure by weight instead of volume. Air whipped in to give it texture and make it smoother for spreading.
Notes:
*Different fats are not interchangeable without seriously affecting the final product. When making cookies, stick with butter. It does multiple things: provides moisture and makes the cookie tender, add flavor, and browns better than other fats (giving cookies a golden color). Do not substitute oil. In other recipes, oil can be substituted in part or in whole. Cakes in particular might turn out moister if part of the butter is replaced with oil. You lose flavor, though.
Leave a Reply