Q: I love those store-bought whipped butters. However now that we've moved overseas, we can't find them in the stores. Is there a way to make them at home?
Sent by I'Ching
Editor: Yes! It's quite easy in fact. The easiest way is to just run some regular unsalted butter through your food processor or in your stand mixer until it is whipped and soft — you want to just incorporate a lot of air into it. This will help soften it up for your meal. You can then leave it at room temperature for a few days to keep it soft.
If you want it to be soft and spreadable while cold, then you will need to add a little oil to the butter while mixing. Here's an example:
• Incredible Spreadable Butter at Average Betty
Readers, do you make whipped butter? Any tips?
Related: Recipe: D.I.Y. Butter
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I don't have a food processor. :[[
You can do it with a hand-held mixer too, and probably with a whisk as well, if your forearm is up to the challenge.
Wouldn't it be easier (and more natural vis-a-vis added oil) to just leave the butter out at room temperature? Butter can stay fresh for quite a long time at room temp as long as it is covered.
That's actually what I do - in a little covered dish. I didn't mention it here because I think some people aren't comfortable with that. Here's a past post about leaving butter at room temp: Good Question: How Long Can I Leave Butter Out?
Thank you for the tip! @Mid-C Frank: we who live in the tropics will have melted butter before too long if we leave 'em out at room temp!
You can use a butter keeper to keep the butter fresh at room temp for quite a while.
Here's an example:
http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-284-Butter-Keeper/dp/B0000VLURQ
If you search the web for "better butter," you'll come up with several recipes, but here's a sample:
1 cup oil (experiment with types)
1 cup butter, softened, not melted
1 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons dried skim milk
1/4 teaspoon lecithin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Be adventurous and leave out what you can't buy. I hope you have a blender. When I lived overseas, sugar granules were so large, powdered milk was so NON-instant, that I learned to just dump everything in a blender, first the wet ingredients, then the dry!
How about making Ghee? Clarified butter, keeps well outside the fridge.
You can also make it in a stand mixer, like a Kitchen Aid.
What a buttery-good surprise to see my Incredible Spreadable post mentioned! Great question, I'Ching! Thanks Faith and thekitchn! Happy butter-spreading everyone :)
I make homemade butter from heavy whipped cream. It's so easy, and it softens at room temperature. Here's how:
http://windowontheprairie.com/2010/04/07/got-cream-make-butter/
Suzanne