Spreadable butter blend

[sl8]

Last edited Wed Nov 14, 2018, 02:25 AM - Edit history (4)

This might be pretty obvious to the more culinarily inclined among us, but it's new to me.

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Short version (TL;DR):
Blend 3 parts olive oil with 4 parts butter (added salt optional) for a tasty spread that can be stored in the refrigerator.

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Longer version:
I was looking for a healthy and affordable butter-like spread. Ideally it would spread easily even when stored in the refrigerator. It finally occurred to me to search for "diy olive oil butter blend". One of the first search hits was:
https://naturalfitfoodie.com/olive-oil-butter/

I'm sure there are other sites just as good or better, but this "recipe" worked well for me. I used salted butter and didn't add any extra salt.

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Bottom line:

It"s very good.

It tastes good and spreads easily right out of the fridge. I'm fairly confident of the ingredients. I assume it's fairly healthy.

I recommend that you try this.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Looks good and I might give it a try. So far, my local BJ's has Land O' Lakes olive oil...

butter at a good price. Also Canola oil butter for slightly less.

How about whipped butter/spreadable butter? They are universally available.

[sl8]

2. Whipped butter had escaped my notice, but I will look into it. Thanks.

Also, will compare the Land O' Lakes product with the DIY version.

[Major Nikon]

3. I store a week or two worth of butter on the counter

I have a European style butter dish that seals out light and air. Salted butter will keep at room temperature for weeks this way. Spreads perfectly. I also buy European butter made from grass fed cows that is considerably richer than US style butter.

[sl8]

4. Is this one of the French-type crocks that use water?

I've never used one.

I can see how they would help in the summer, but do they keep the butter softer in the winter than if you left it out in a butter dish?

[Major Nikon]

5. No, mine is just porcelain with a wooden lid and a rubber seal

Butter, and especially salted butter is pretty immune to spoilage at least at room temperatures over a reasonable length of time. The biggest threat is rancidity as is the case with all saturated fats, but even that will take several weeks provided your butter is reasonably fresh when you get it. You can extend that time by keeping it in a container that seals out light and air. When I buy butter I store what I'm not going to use in a week or two in the freezer and the rest goes in the dish.

Americans refrigerate everything, but when you travel abroad you realize how many things people don't refrigerate with no ill effects.

[sl8]

6. I may have given the wrong impression when I said that you could keep this in the fridge.

You can keep it in the fridge, and I do, but I'm not particularly concerned about spoilage. I'm more concerned about it being easy to spread.

I've found that butter kept out in a cheap plastic butter dish, in the colder months, is awfully hard to spread.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that butter has a fairly narrow range of temperatures at which it's at an acceptable viscosity or consistency. Maybe 65 ℉ to 85 ℉ or so? Whatever the range is, my kitchen table seems to exceed it an awful lot, mostly on the low end.

[Donkees]

7. Have you tried a butter warmer? :)

[sl8]

9. Fancy!

Far too fancy for the likes of me.

You've heard of "pearls before swine"? If I had some high-falutin' butter-warmers like them, I'd be reduced to gawpin' at them and oinkin'.

Thanks for the thought, though.

[Major Nikon]

8. You might try using more expensive butter

The fat types and amounts tend to be slightly different. I’m not sure if it’s enough to matter, but it does seem to be more spreadable. You can also store it on top of the fridge and that might make a difference. The temperature is warmer the higher it is and if you have a frost free freezer it has a heating cycle that runs every few hours.

My kitchen never gets colder than about 70F, so I don’t have any issues with butter spreading smoothly at room temps.

[sl8]

10. I'm okay with the spread, for now.

I t would be an interesting experiment to compare the spreadability of different butters. Alas, my schedule is already too full.

You're right about the top of the fridge.

My kitchen is considerably cooler than that in the winter.

[Major Nikon]

11. I'm not sure there's going to be much difference

European butters tend to have a slightly higher level of milk fat because they are churned longer. They also tend to be fermented, which also adds more flavor, and they have a lower water content. I don't think the difference in milk fat is going to affect viscosity much.

If you want to lower the viscosity by adding cooking oil, it might not be a bad idea to use them anyway because it's going to retain more flavor in the end result. European butters are naturally more expensive, but as you're combining them with cheaper oils, the cost difference will be offset.