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What is Whipped Butter?

Brendan McGuigan
Brendan McGuigan

Whipped butter is a type of butter that has been whipped to mix in normal air or nitrogen gas. The point is to create something that spreads more easily, even after it has been slightly chilled. Many companies also whip butter as a way of increasing the volume of it without actually adding more butterfat. By law in the United States, whipped butter has to contain at least 25% butterfat.

Many restaurants, especially fine-dining establishments, create their own whipped butter to serve with bread or before-dinner items. This type of butter has a creaminess to it that not only makes it easier to spread evenly over food, but that also makes it seem more luxurious. At the same time, many people consider it supportive of healthier eating, as most people wind up eating less butterfat when they use whipped butter, since they can cover their piece of bread with it easily, reducing the amount of clumping.

Whipped butter is easy to spread.
Whipped butter is easy to spread.

Whipped butter should not be used in cooking, however, as it melts quite a bit faster than normal butter and often creates a foam. This can affect recipes that depend on melt time. Additionally, it isn’t a good substitute in baking recipes, because these recipes usually give measurements in terms of volume. Since this butter has so much air in it, using a certain quantity of it will add much less butterfat to the recipe than it may be calling for, although if the recipe gives measurements in terms of weight, a more accurate substitution can be made.

Making whipped butter at home is easy.
Making whipped butter at home is easy.

Some restaurants also mix in ice water with their whipped butter to further extend the amount of butter yielded by a small amount of butterfat. This is a great solution for restaurants serving cold bread, but does not work with warm breads or sides. This is because, if the butter melts too much, the ice water will reappear, drenching the bread in water rather than butter.

Whipped butter is easy to spread.
Whipped butter is easy to spread.

Making whipped butter at home is very easy. All one need do is put already softened butter, left out of a refrigerator for a time, into a food processor. Then put the food processor on a low setting and leave it for a few minutes, until air has been mixed in and created a fluffy butter. Cooks can then store this in a glass container or a dispensing bag. Some people take an extra step and freeze the butter between whipping it, repeating this five or six times to get as much air as possible into the butter. Hand mixing can work as well, although one should allow at least three phases of ten minutes of mixing to get enough air in.

A food processor may be needed to make whipped butter.
A food processor may be needed to make whipped butter.

Some people warn that making whipped butter at home can make it less sturdy in terms of leaving it out at room temperature. Mixing air into the butter can cause it to go rancid more quickly, so it is important to refrigerate the butter after using it, or else to use it fairly quickly. Commercial whipped butter uses nitrogen gas in its creation, so that it will not go rancid.

Discussion Comments

SnowyWinter

@grumpyguppy: My sister is currently in culinary school and she came home and showed us how they learned to make whipped butter. Take ¼ cup milk and ½ lb. softened butter and beat with a mixer until it is light and fluffy.

Apparently, that expands the volume by one third and makes it more spreadable. They put the mixture into a cake decorating tube with one of those fancy tips and pipe it onto the plate when making individual dishes. It’s a nice touch when having guests over.

GardenTurtle

@grumpyguppy: My husband loves for me to make homemade whipped butter. I usually make a loaf of sourdough bread at the same time. They go great together!

Place a large bowl in the fridge and let it chill a few hours before you want to make your butter. Pick up a container of heavy cream at the grocery store. It’s better to get one without sugar added. Let the heavy cream sit out until room temperature is reached. Then, pour the cream into the chilled bowl.

Whip the cream with an electric mixer until it is stiff. Slow the mixing down gradually. The butter will go through different stages before it reaches “whipped butter” stage. Taste it to make sure it tastes like butter. If not, keep whipping.

GrumpyGuppy

What are the ingredients and instructions to make homemade whipped butter?

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    • Whipped butter is easy to spread.
      By: VIPDesign
      Whipped butter is easy to spread.
    • Making whipped butter at home is easy.
      By: fumi
      Making whipped butter at home is easy.
    • Whipped butter is easy to spread.
      By: larisabozhikova
      Whipped butter is easy to spread.
    • A food processor may be needed to make whipped butter.
      A food processor may be needed to make whipped butter.