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What Are the Best Tips for Making Whipped Butter?

Amanda R. Bell
Amanda R. Bell

Preparing whipped butter can be a great way to make it easier to spread as well as limit the amount of calories in your food without sacrificing taste. Some of the best tips for doing so include bringing the butter to room temperature prior to whipping it and using a mixing stand with a deep bowl. Usually, you will need to whip the butter twice to incorporate enough air into it and to combine any other ingredients thoroughly. If you want to make a large batch of whipped butter, one of the best tips is to incorporate a small amount of flavorless oil to keep the butter spreadable even when cold.

While butter is best kept in the refrigerator especially during the warmer months, cold butter can be difficult with which to work. Attempting to whip cold butter will likely be an effort in futility; for this reason, one of the best tips for making this spread is to let the butter sit on your counter, away from direct sunlight, for three to four hours. Letting the butter soften before you work with it will not only save you a fair amount of time and frustration, but also make it easier to fully incorporate any other ingredients you want into your whipped butter.

Butter should be at room temperature before whipping it.
Butter should be at room temperature before whipping it.

Another good tip for making a butter spread is to use the deepest mixing bowl that you have. In order to incorporate the right amount of air into the butter, you will have to use a relatively high speed on your mixer. If you use a shallow bowl, you can expect butter to be everywhere except in the dish.

Perhaps one of the best tips for making whipped butter is to avoid the urge to rush the process and allow the time to beat the butter twice, rather than trying to mix everything together at once. For the first stage, whip the butter on its own until it is light and fluffy, which can take anywhere from one to ten minutes, depending on how much butter you have and the strength of your mixer. Once you reach this stage, you can begin to add any other ingredients to your spreadable butter, including milk, oil, or seasonings, before starting the second, and final, stage of whipping the butter.

A deeper mixing bowl will help keep butter from being sprayed everywhere.
A deeper mixing bowl will help keep butter from being sprayed everywhere.

Yet another good tip for making whipped butter is to plan ahead for how much of the spread you will use and whether or not you will have to store any of it. If you are making a fresh batch for one meal and intend to use all of it, you typically will not need oil. In the event that you plan to make a batch of whipped butter to keep on hand for toast, pancakes, or other dishes, adding some oil is a necessity, preferably one with a light flavor, such as canola or vegetable. Butter that is whipped without oil will return to a solid state after refrigeration, meaning you will have to start from scratch the next time. Oil, however, keeps the butter soft, even if it is cold, making it easy to store homemade whipped butter for later use.

Discussion Comments

Raynbow

For an added health benefit to your whipped butter, try using extra virgin olive oil instead of canola or vegetable oil. Since it is cold pressed, this type of oil will not add harmful ingredients to your whipped butter. Olive oil also gives butter a rich flavor that tastes great on breads, vegetables, and just about any food you like to put butter on.

Talentryto

@heavanet- Yes, you can make whipped butter with a whisk, but you will definitely have to allow the butter to get soft first. When you plan to do this, you should put your butter at room temperature for at least an hour so it will be much easier to whip.

You can also soften it a bit in the microwave, but you must be careful not to allow it to melt completely. About 15 to 45 seconds should be enough time in the microwave to melt butter enough to whip it with a whisk.

Another tip for making whipped butter with a whisk is to mash and stir it first with a large spoon. This will help to make the consistency softer, which in turn will make it easy to turn into whipped butter with a whisk.

Heavanet

Is it possible to use a whisk to make whipped butter? I want to make a batch, but I don't have an electric mixer.

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    • Butter should be at room temperature before whipping it.
      By: VIPDesign
      Butter should be at room temperature before whipping it.
    • A deeper mixing bowl will help keep butter from being sprayed everywhere.
      By: fumi
      A deeper mixing bowl will help keep butter from being sprayed everywhere.
    • Let butter sit on the counter, away from direct sunlight, for three or four hours before whipping it.
      By: sommai
      Let butter sit on the counter, away from direct sunlight, for three or four hours before whipping it.
    • Whipped butter is easy to spread.
      By: larisabozhikova
      Whipped butter is easy to spread.