MAKING BETTER BUTTER

      Title: MAKING BETTER BUTTER
  Categories: Spreads, Seasonings, Info
       Yield: 1 Info below
  
       1    Info below
  
   "Start with the freshest butter you can find.  I use unsalted butter
   because I like to control the amount of salt (if any) in the finished
   product, and because its flavor is more delicate than that of the
   heavily salted varieties that are commonly available.  Because butter
   is more perishable when unsalted, I recommend that you keep it frozen
   until you're ready to use it.
   
   "Any herbs or fruits to be used in the butter should be fresh but
   without excess moisture, which will hasten spoilage. If you are
   picking fresh herbs for use in butter, wash them in the garden, 'on
   the hoof', the day before you cut them.
   
   "Choose herbs that complement each other as well as the dish you have
   in mind..."
   
   "I use my food processor for blending herb butters, but you can mix
   them by hand if the ingredients are thoroughly chopped in advance.
   Begin with butter at room temperature, and thoroughly blend in the
   base ingredients - those that are powdery or pasty and others that
   add color and flavor but little texture. Then add the ingredients
   that are to be more apparent in the texture, such as herb leaves or
   olives.
   
   "Freshly made herb butter should be refrigerated for at least three
   hours (overnight is better) to allow the flavors to blend. It can be
   frozen as long as three months without noticeable loss of flavor.
   
                          - Serving Suggestions -
   
   "Sometimes I pack my butters in ordinary plastic containers such as
   commercial margarine tubs or freezer containers, but usually I like
   to do something fancy with them. Here are a few of my favorite ideas."
   
   ~ Pack the butter into small plastic molds and freeze them, then pop
   each out into a plastic bag and keep frozen until served. Melt a
   molded shape of herb butter over fresh pasta.
   
   ~ Roll butter into a fat cylinder, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill
   it until solid.  Slice off rounds as needed to top vegetables, fish,
   or bread.
   
   ~ Pipe butter florets through a pastry bag fitted with a large star
   tip onto a cookie sheet, then freeze.
   
   ~ Shave off colorful curls of refrigerated herb butter with a butter
   curler.
   
   ~ Make butter balls with a melon baller, then add texture with butter
   paddles.
   
   ~ With a rolling pin, roll the butter out about 1/4 inch thick, then
   cut various shapes with miniature cookie cutters. Freeze until ready
   to use.
   
   ~ Whip the butter with a hand-held mixer until it is light and
   fluffy, then pack it in earthenware crocks. (You need a whisk
   attachment to whip butter in a food processor.)
   
   ~ Use herb butter in making pastry crusts; use savory herbs for savory
   dishes and sweeter herbs (such as lavender and lemon verbena) for
   pastries.
   
   From Lynn Alley's "Herbs in Butter" article in "The Herb Companion."
   April/May 1993, Vol. 5, No. 4.  Pp. 47-48. Posted by Cathy Harned.
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