Data source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 173430 (Butter, without salt).
Fun facts
- Butter is made by churning cream until the fat droplets clump into a solid mass. The liquid left behind is buttermilk.
- Butter is about 80% fat, and the rest is mostly water with a little milk solids. Every 100g of unsalted butter has about 717 kcal, 81.1g of fat and under 1g of protein.
- Unsalted means no added salt: sodium is only about 11mg per 100g. Butter is also rich in vitamin A, about 684µg per 100g, thanks to its cream origin.
- Butter is one of the most common ingredients in the kOBE recipe library, used in 282 dishes, from bakes to savory dishes like buttered corn and garlic butter shrimp.
Choosing and storing
For baking, use unsalted butter so you control the salt. Read the label to tell dairy butter from margarine, which is made from vegetable oil. Butter soaks up smells quickly, so keep it wrapped in its paper or in a container in the fridge. If you buy a lot, cut it into portions and freeze, taking out one piece at a time.
Cooking it well
The milk solids in butter burn easily, so pan fry over medium heat, or mix butter with a little cooking oil to handle heat better. Cook butter gently until the solids turn golden brown and you get brown butter, nutty and lovely over vegetables. Since one tablespoon of butter (about 14g) has around 100 kcal, a little is enough for aroma. To see how much heat each fat can take, read cooking oil smoke points.
