Compound Butters Will Make Any Dish a Fancy (and Flavorful) Treat

Learn what compound butter is and how to use it, plus three easy recipes for sweet and savory compound butters.
Sweet Fruit Compound Butter

On its own butter is, of course, a most decadent ingredient, full of rich, creamy and (sometimes) salty flavors. But beyond its indulgence, butter is also endlessly versatile, which means that it can be used as a finishing condiment as well as a fat with which to cook, and it pairs well with both sweet and savory tastes. On this morning's all-new episode of The Kitchen, the co-hosts showed how simple it is to start with your everyday sticks of butter — both salted and unsalted — and turn them into compound butter, which is simply a fancy name for flavored butter.

The key to making compound butters is starting with room-temperature butter; this will ensure that when you add the extra ingredients, like nuts, fruit jams or herbs, the butter will quickly absorb them and become one unified product. Once those additions are fully incorporated, it's best to roll up the butter into logs and refrigerate it, so you can easily spread or saute with as you would ordinary butter.

Get the co-hosts' easy recipes for compound butters below, then leave a comment telling FN Dish your favorite way to use butter.

Tune in for an all-new episode of The Kitchen on Saturday at 11a|10c.

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