Four Ways To Better Butter

If you plan to cook something this holiday season, at some point you're going to be using butter.  You will be either using it in baking, frying something in it, coating something with it, or spreading it directly onto something you want to eat. Butter on its own is great, but there are ways to get even more out of one of the most versatile cooking fats.

Honey butter is exactly what it sounds like - honey blended into butter. Simple to make, it's great on toast, English muffins, pancakes, waffles, and cornbread.

Ingredients

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature (the better the butter, the better the product)
150 g honey
3 g salt

1. Get the butter you plan to use to room temperature by taking it out of the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. 
2. Put the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a rubber spatula until it's slightly whipped or mix everything up in a mixer with a paddle attachment.

Store in a food-safe container in the refrigerator.

Brown butter (also known as buerre noisette) is melted butter that gains a nutty flavour after gently cooking it. It works great as a sauce or as a melted butter substitute in both sweet and savory dishes.

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Cut the butter into pieces so it cooks evenly and put the pieces in a pot with light-coloring on the inside. 
2. Turn the stove heat to medium heat to ensure the butter cooks evenly. Stir the butter to move it around as it melts. The butter will begin to foam and sizzle around the edges once melted. Continue stirring. In about 5–8 minutes, the butter will turn golden brown. The foam will slightly subside and the milk solids on the bottom of the pan will toast. You're on the right track if there's a strong buttery, nutty aroma in the air.
3. You don't want the butter to burn, so keep your eye on the stove - do not walk away, and do not stop stirring.  Once some of the foam begins to dissolve and you notice specks on the bottom of the pan have browned, remove the pan from heat immediately and pour the butter into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking process. The brown specks are toasted milk solids, where most of the brown butter's flavour comes from, so scrape those out of the pan along with the liquid butter.

The butter will solidify as it comes back to room temperature. Once it has solidified, store the browned butter in a tightly covered food-safe container in the refrigerator for 5 days. Wrap in plastic wrap and then a layer of foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Butter is an emulsion of fat and water. Clarified butter is what you get when you remove everything from the butter that isn't fat. It can be used for frying and sautéing, cooking eggs or steak, and makes a superior hollandaise sauce.

Ingredients

4 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Cut the sticks of butter into quarters and place the pieces in a suitable-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
2. Remove the bowl from the microwave and let it stand for 1 minute. Spoon off the foamy top layer, then spoon or strain the clarified butter through either cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a small food-safe container. Any milky liquid left over at the bottom of the bowl can be thrown away.

Ghee, popular in Indian recipes, is clarified butter cooked even further.

Ingredients

454 g butter, room temperature

1. Cut the butter into pieces and place in a light-coloured pot on low heat. Melt the butter and bring to a simmer. When the butter starts to foam, skim the foam off the top with a spoon.
2. Continue cooking the ghee on low for another 20-25 minutes, or until the middle layer is translucent and you can smell the nutty aroma. Turn off the heat when done, and let it cool down for a few minutes. Strain the ghee through cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a food-safe container. 

Both ghee and clarified butter can be stored at room temperature in a cupboard (away from direct light) for a few months. If you plan to keep it longer, store it in the refrigerator where it will last about a year.

Cooking at 4:20

People have been eating marijuana for almost as long as they have been smoking the stuff. With the news that Canada will legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018, the countdown has begun on when the public can legally get their hands on the wide variety of products containing THC, the chemical compound that makes cannabis so enticing to people. If eaten as is, weed isn't very effective, as the digestive system is unable to digest THC. However, THC is fat soluble, which is why people cook their pot with a fat; when cooked and heated, this releases the THC from the cannabis and into the fat. One of the more popular ways to put marijuana in food is using cannabutter. In honour of 4:20, here's a recipe for making this popular pothead spread:

Ingredients

454 g butter
240 mL water
40 g marijuana, grounded up 

(NOTE: Until the law is officially changed, possession of marijuana is still illegal. Don't blame me if you get arrested.)

1. Put the water and the butter in a saucepan, and begin simmering everything at a low heat to let the butter melt (adding water helps to regulate the temperature, and prevents the butter from burning).
2. Add the cannabis, and let the mixture simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Be sure to never let the mixture come to a full boil.
3. Once the simmering is complete, pour the mixture into a glass, refrigerator-safe container - use either cheesecloth or a fine strainer to strain out all the plant material. Get as much liquid out of the plant material, then throw it out. Cover and refrigerate what's in the glass container overnight, or until the butter has hardened and separates from the water, which should also be thrown out.
4. Use as you would regular butter. To test for potency, start with one portion of a serving, then wait an hour or two. You'll know if you require more or not, so don't drive or use heavy machinery while under the influence.