Cultured Butter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes cultured butter? ›

Cultured butter is made from pasteurized cream that's been exposed to live bacterial cultures (much like the cultures used to make yogurt and cheese). The bacterial cultures jumpstart a fermentation process, which thickens the cream and gives it a tangier, more complex flavor.

– Cultured butter typically lasts for 10 days in the refrigerator. – Butter easily absorbs other odors so make sure it is tightly-sealed. – You can also freeze butter – it will last for several months.

Add a tablespoon or two of buttermilk to your raw cream and allow it to rest at room temperature for 4-6 hours or until it smells fragrant and cultured. Add a tablespoon or two of raw milk kefir to your raw cream and allow it to rest at room temperature for 4-6 hours.

Cultured butter can be used anywhere you would use regular sweet cream butter—you can use cultured butter in any recipe that calls for regular butter. It will affect recipes in a relatively subtle yet meaningful way. And it will only improve things, says Martano.

Sometimes referred to as “European-style butter,” cultured butter is treated with live cultures and allowed to ferment before it's churned. This results in butter with a stronger, more lactic flavor. Cultured butter generally has a higher butterfat content (typically 82–85%) than standard American butter (80–82%).

Cabot Extra Creamy barely edged out the salted butter by Isigny Sainte-Mère, a storied brand out of Normandy, France. That butter scored 99.6 from the judges. Nevertheless, please note: A half-pound of Cabot Extra Creamy Sea Salted butter rings up at about $4.

Rancid butter will have a sour or stale smell that is quite noticeable, and that is a clear sign that it needs to be thrown out. If you still aren't sure, touch it. If your butter has a greasy or slimy texture, it has likely gone bad. Fresh butter should be smooth and firm.

When it comes to butter, “cultured” refers to cream that is allowed to ferment or has live bacterial cultures added to it before churning. (Yogurt is a common example of another food that is cultured.)

Cultured butters contain probiotics, live microbes with proven health benefits. Standard butters, known as 'sweet butter', do not. Cultured butters taste AMAZING! Most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate butter because it contains only trace amounts of lactose (<0.7g/100g).

Essentially, cultured butter has a more pronounced butter flavor. It's creamier than traditional butter with just a slight tang from the cultures—the same way you can detect a bit of tanginess in buttermilk or yogurt. If you opt for salted cultured butter, that flavor will be even more noticeable.

What is the flavor of cultured butter? ›

TASTING NOTES

When you first open your butter it will have a tangy and creamy flavour. Over time the culture will develop, which enhances the flavour. Developing cultures will give the butter a cheesier taste and more pungent smell.

These microorganisms are responsible for generating the flavor and aroma of cultured butter, which will be fuller and slightly nutty compared to uncultured butter. Many of these same microorganisms are also commonly used in fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and yogurt.

The butter has a bright acidity that cuts through fat and makes baked goods shine. Using cultured butter in baking allows all of those nuanced flavors to carry through into the final product, adding a savory complexity to anything you bake. You might not know it's there, but you'll know something special is going on.

Room-temperature buttering is especially beneficial for craft butters, such as European-style cultured butter, which have a unique flavor profile that is best appreciated at room temperature. Keeping butter at room temperature can also help to preserve its natural moisture, making it easier to spread and use.

When it comes to butter, “cultured” refers to cream that is allowed to ferment or has live bacterial cultures added to it before churning. (Yogurt is a common example of another food that is cultured.)

European-style butter also has a tangier flavor than lower-fat sweet cream butter. Cultured Butter is traditionally made from fermented cream. Nowadays, dairies make much of the commercial cultured butter by incorporating live bacterial cultures and lactic acid. European–style butter is often made from cultured butter.

Although the cultures in buttermilk, crème fraiche and sour cream are the ones that are traditionally used to culture butter, yogurt also works surprisingly well and is widely available. Full fat, low fat, or nonfat yogurt will work in this recipe, as long as it has has live cultures.

As implied by the name, cultured ghee is cooked from cultured butter. Dairy butter is used as the raw ingredient in regular ghee, but manufacturers use cultured butter in the cultured ghee-making process. Cultured ghee contains lactic acid instead of lactose in milk.