Using butter

In pastry making to make puff pastry? A shortcrust pastry? A lemon cream? A caramel?
In cooking, to make a roux? A beurre blanc sauce? Butter is frequently used in your recipes, but do you know why and how to use it? And are you sure you have the right butter? Elle & Vire explains and recommends the ideal choice of butter for each application...

Why use butter

To give taste
There is no equivalent to butter for fixing, lifting and enhancing the subtlest aromas. A butter also offers a very varied palette of flavours linked to the choice of creams, the terroir and also the way it is used: eaten by itself to appreciate its hazelnut or creamy taste or cooked for the taste of roasted hazelnuts, caramel...
To make your pastry crunchy, crisp or soft
In pastry making, butter plays a fundamental role because it makes the pastry ""waterproof"". At the same time, it adds crustiness and crumble to shortcrust and all dry pastries (small cakes for eating on the move, for example) and brings softness and creaminess to risen doughs.
To help thicken your sauces and make them soft and creamy
Butter has no equal for thickening sauces, without forgetting the taste and all the flavours; it reinforces the creamy, melt in the mouth character of some receipes.
To soften and balance the flavours
Butter softens basic flavours such as sweet, salty, bitter and acid. For example, it will enhance a chocolate ganache by making the bitterness of the cocoa more agreeable, or soften the acidity of the vinegar in a beurre blanc sauce...
For its unequalled properties in making flaky pastry
Who has never tried to count the numerous ""leaves"" in a mille-feuilles or appreciated croissants so finely flaked that they melt in the mouth... butter plays an essential role for producing the perfect flake During cooking, each layer of butter waterproofs the layers of pastry; the water in each layer of pastry boils off as steam and, to escape, the steam causes each layer of pastry to rise and then dry to become a fine crusty flake.

Which butter to choose for using cold?

Using cold
Which butter ?
Why ?
Breakfast
As is on a slice of bread or with jam, honey or savoury ingredients (cheese, cold meats…)
Which butter ? Traditional butter (moulded, rolled…), a spreadable butter in a tub or butter pats
Why ? The flavours of a traditional butter come out best when tasted by itself. Spreadable butters for their ease of use and to control of the quantity of butter used and for their good taste
Starters
As is with by itself vegetables (red or black radishes with salt…), or to accompany cold meats or seafood
Which butter ? Traditional butter (moulded, rolled…), a spreadable butter in a tub or butter pats
Why ? The flavours of a traditional butter come out best when tasted by itself. Spreadable butters or butter pats for their ease of use and to control of the quantity of butter used and for their good taste
Dishes
As is with a slice of ham or used to butter toast (boiled eggs)
Which butter ? Traditional butter (moulded, rolled...) or a spreadable butter in a tub
Why ? The flavours of a traditional butter come out best when tasted by itself. Spreadable butters or butter pats for their ease of use and to control of the quantity of butter used and for their good taste
Sauces
Blended savoury butters (with herbs, mustard, shallots, truffles, seaweed, citrus fruit...) to accompany dishes
Which butter ? All types of full-fat butter, to be softened before incorporating the ingredients
Why ? Since the butter must be worked at room temperature, it is best to use a full-fat butter in a classic pack
Cheese
As it is, on bread with cheese
Which butter ? Traditional butter (moulded, rolled...) or a spreadable butter in a tub
Why ? The flavours of a traditional butter come out best when tasted by itself. Spreadable butters for their ease of use and to control of the quantity of butter used and for their good taste
Desserts
Blended sweet butters (with sugar, citrus fruit, chocolate...)
Which butter ? All types of full-fat butter, to be softened before incorporating the ingredients
Why ? Since the butter must be worked at room temperature, it is best to use a full-fat butter in a classic pack
Butter cream
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack, to be softened
Why ? A full-fat butter is indispensable. Using a light butter, which contains more water, will cause the preparation to separate
Crème pâtissière
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack, to be softened
Why ? Using a light butter, which contains more water, will cause the preparation to separate
Aperitifs
Snacks
Blended butters with herbs, mustard, shallots, truffles, seaweed, citrus fruit...
Which butter ? All types of full-fat butter, to be softened before incorporating the ingredients
Why ? Since the butter must be worked at room temperature, it is best to use a full-fat butter in a classic pack
Sandwiches
Which butter ? Full-fat or light spreadable butter
Why ? The flavours of a traditional butter come out best when tasted by itself.
Spreadable butters for their ease of use and to control of the quantity of butter used and for their good taste

Which butter
to choose for using hot?

Using hot
Which butter ?
Why ?
Starters
Savoury pancakes, gnocchi, croque monsieur
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack or traditional butter
Why ? To give a nice butter taste with a few knobs of butter
Dishes
As is on vegetables, meat, pasta, rice
Which butter ? Butter in a pack, traditional butter or even blended butters (maître d’hôtel…)
Why ? A knob of butter on vegetables or a blended butter with meat… The way to bring out all the flavours in a dish!
As is for buttering a mould or a dish before cooking
Which butter ? Softened full-fat butter from a pack (to spread it with the fingers) or melted (to spread with a brush) or home-made clarified butter
Why ? Helps turning out the mould, gives a nice butter taste
As is in stews (casseroles…)
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack or home-made clarified butter
Why ? If the butter is to be used for browning or bringing out the flavour of the ingredients, keep a careful eye on the cooking or use clarified butter
As is for cooking in the frying pan
Which butter ? Butter in a pack or home-made clarified butter for browning (high temperature)
Why ? If the butter is to be used for browning or bringing out the flavour of the ingredients, keep a careful eye on the cooking or use clarified butter
As is in a purée
Which butter ? Butter in a pack or home-made brown butter
Why ? To give softness and flavour to your purée. Brown butter gives a subtle taste of toasted hazelnuts
Sauces
Hot savoury butter sauces like beurre blanc or rouge (butter + vinegar/wine) or a sauce beaten with butter
Which butter ? Well-chilled full-fat butter in a pack
Why ? Bind the sauce while giving a nice butter taste and creamy coating consistency to your sauce. The butter will soften acidic flavours and bring out the flavour of other ingredients
Emulsified hot savoury butter sauces like Béarnaise or Hollandaise (butter + lemon juice + egg)
Which butter ? Melted full-fat butter from a pack
Why ? Thicken the sauce while giving a nice butter taste and a creamy consistency to your sauce. The butter will soften acidic flavours and bring out the flavour of other ingredients
Hot savoury sauces using a white or brown roux (béchamel, white sauce, sauce ivoire…)
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack or home-made worked butter
Why ? To thicken the sauce and also to give it taste
Hot sweet sauces (caramel)
Which butter ? Unsalted full-fat butter or salted (for salted caramel sauce)
Why ? The butter in the caramel will soften the bitterness of the caramelised sugar and give a creamy texture and nice brown colour to your caramel
Desserts
To prepare a sweet or shortcrust pastry or a crumble
Which butter ? Full-fat butter in a pack
Why ? A nice buttery taste and crustiness
To prepare puff pastry
Which butter ? Full-fat butter (not spreadable) and ideally a dry butter
Why ? Choosing a hard butter with good malleability will bring success to the folding step for a perfect flake!
Incorporate into a receipe for a sweet tart (lemon tart...)
Which butter ? Full-fat butter
Why ? Cold butter cut into dices to bind the preparation
Tea cakes
Which butter ? Full-fat butter from a pack worked into home-made brown butter
Why ? Brown butter is essential for making a financier in accordance with best practice
Madeleines
Which butter ? Full-fat butter from a pack, softened
Why ? Softened butter can be better incorporated into the preparation
Brittany shortbread
Which butter ? Brittany shortbread
Why ? Salted butter has made the reputation of Brittany's cakes and pastries: the taste of butter, a hint of salt and unforgettable crustiness
Ganache
Which butter ? Full-fat butter from a pack, softened
Why ? A full-fat butter to prevent the ganache from separating

Elle & Vire advices

  1. 1 Use fresh butter for cooking with butter or making butter pastries, use fresh butter which will have a good taste and will fix and heighten the subtlest flavours. Using left-over butter may gave a bad rancid taste to your receipes.
  2. 2 To store butter properly, it should be re-wrapped and ideally protected from air and light. So be sure to re-wrap in the foil pack or close the covers of tubs and place in the separate space provided in the door of the refrigerator. Otherwise the butter can take on odours from your fridge…
  3. 3 Use a salted butter for certain applications, they give an exceptional flavour.
  4. 4 Clarified butter so easy to make and a real cook's tip for cooking at high temperature without the risk of burning or blackening the butter.
  5. 5 Brown butter is very aromatic... well known to pastry chefs, some great cooks also use it in cooking to give a very special flavour to their dishes (a touch of brown butter in a purée, for example).