A Word About Butter

We all know Paula Deen is quite familiar with butter, but how about you?  Do you know the average shelf life of butter?  Do you understand why recipes call for butter to be at room temperature?  Well, I have some good information about butter that I would like to share!

Shelf Life:  Unsalted butter has a shelf life of up to 3 months since it has no preservatives.  Salted butter has a shelf life of up to 5 months because the salt acts as a preservative.  You can freeze butter up to 6 months.  Just remember to defrost the butter in the refrigerator prior to using. (Using previously frozen butter for baking is not recommended, as this will change texture and moisture content.)

Freshness:  To check the freshness of the butter, cut a small slice. The outside should be the same color as the inside. If the outside is darker, that means the butter has oxidized.  The butter is no longer fresh and will have a metallic-like taste.

Did you know that salted butter was created to prevent spoilage and mask odors and bad taste? 

Temperature:  Butter temperature plays an important role in baking. If the recipe calls for the butter to be room temperature, the butter should be between 65 degrees F and 70 degrees F.  (It should only give slightly when pressed with finger tip.) Butter that is at room temperature allows the maximum amount of air to be beaten into the batter.  When a recipe calls for cold butter, it is not absorbed as much by the starch of the flour, which helps create layers of flakiness.

Creaming:  When you cream the butter, it creates air bubbles that your leavener (baking powder or baking soda) will enlarge during baking.  If your recipe calls for creaming the butter, experts recommend a creaming time of 4-5 minutes.

Substituting:  You can substitute salted butter (say 8 oz.) for the same amount of unsalted butter, but remember to remove 1/2 teaspoon of salt from the recipe.