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How Do I Choose the Best Lemon Butter?

Kristeen Moore
Kristeen Moore

Lemon butter is a type of cooking tool that can be purchased from the store or made on your own from scratch. When making the butter at home, you might consider using lemon juice in lieu of the fruit in order to save time and to make a stronger taste. The exact type of butter that you purchase or choose to make ultimately depends on for what dishes you need it. Some lemon butters act more as a spread to add to certain food items, while others have the consistency of a sauce.

The demand for packaged butters continues to increase as consumers are looking for the most convenient methods of meal preparation as possible. Although plain butter is standard in terms of availability in supermarkets, some specialty stores offer flavored versions as well. Lemon butter is sold in some grocery stores, but it can be difficult to locate in certain regions. These butters generally consist of plain butter flavored with lemon juices during processing; such products might not actually contain real fruit extracts.

A lemon.
A lemon.

An alternative to packaged lemon butter is to make it yourself at home. If you prefer to churn your own butter, you can add ingredients during the final stages to make this product. Perhaps the easiest way to make it is to purchase plain butter from the store and to add other ingredients to it. Grated rind from lemons and their juices are the most common features in the butter. You might consider using prepared lemon juice because it is quicker to use, and the flavors are stronger.

Plain butter is flavored with lemon juice to make lemon butter.
Plain butter is flavored with lemon juice to make lemon butter.

Other ingredients used to make lemon butter ultimately depend on what dishes you are making. If you are using the butter for meats or vegetables, then you will want to stick with as few ingredients as possible. Some recipes call for the use of herbs, such as parsley, when making lemon butter sauce for certain meals. If you want a sweeter butter to add to breads and desserts, you can add white sugar, marshmallows, and honey. Generally, you will need to add some cornstarch or flour in order to help the ingredients stick together.

Lemon butter can be made by combining melted butter with lemon juice.
Lemon butter can be made by combining melted butter with lemon juice.

Butter is traditionally used as a spread, but it is also melted down before use in some dishes so that it can help to mix other ingredients together. When you are making lemon butter at home, you usually need to melt all of the ingredients together beforehand. If you desire a more spread-like consistency, you can refrigerate the lemon butter upon cooling.

Discussion Comments

Lostnfound

I'd definitely make my own lemon butter. I've bought herbed butter at the store before and it always tasted a little "off." I'd rather make my own and know exactly what's in it and how much.

I like garlic butter, myself, and it's so easy to make, there's no need to buy a spread at the store. For garlic butter, you can even buy the tub spread and just add some garlic and dried parsley, mix it up, return it to the tub and there you are.

For something like lemon butter, especially, though, I'd trust my own recipe and methods before I would something at the store. That's just me, though. And that's assuming you can even find it at the store. Butter's easy, though.

Grivusangel

Flavored butter is so easy to make, it's not really necessary to buy any from the store. Lemon butter included.

Just soften the butter to room temperature and get out your wooden spoon. Depending on the strength of the lemon flavor you want, add about a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a teaspoon of lemon zest for every stick of butter. Mix the juice and zest into the softened butter, then pile the butter on to a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a roll. Twist both ends shut and wrap in foil. Place in the refrigerator or freezer, and there you go! Lemon butter. What could be easier?

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    • A lemon.
      By: .AGA.
      A lemon.
    • Plain butter is flavored with lemon juice to make lemon butter.
      By: Photographee.eu
      Plain butter is flavored with lemon juice to make lemon butter.
    • Lemon butter can be made by combining melted butter with lemon juice.
      By: fkruger
      Lemon butter can be made by combining melted butter with lemon juice.