There are simple ways to get all the creamy deliciousness you love with less fat—and some smart swaps to try.
Maximize the flavor. Use butter as a finishing touch. Do this instead of using it as a cooking fat, says James Briscione, a chef and culinary adviser at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. If you sauté vegetables in olive oil and then toss them with a pat of butter, you’ll still get a satisfying result.
Try a taste tweak. Heat sweet cream or European butter over a low flame for 5 to 10 minutes to make nutty brown butter; a little goes a long way. Or experiment with cutting half the butter in a fish or pasta dish and instilling umami flavor with miso, low-sodium soy sauce, or nutritional yeast.
Spice it up. A bit of compound butter can season food well. To make it, Briscione recommends softening a stick of butter, then mixing in ½ tablespoon each of parsley, chives, and tarragon, and the zest of half a lemon.
Use oil for some baking. When recipes for muffins, brownies, or quick breads call for melted butter, you can swap in oil, says Austin Scoles, an instructor in the College of Food Innovation & Technology at Johnson & Wales University in Provincetown, R.I. Go with ¾ cup of oil per cup of butter. But don’t reduce the amount of butter in a recipe if it’s being creamed with sugar. That process creates air pockets and the light texture you want in baked goods like cakes and cookies.
Serving Ideas
Hard, cold butter can be tough to spread and doesn’t taste as good, either. Before you serve butter, try these tips.
Choose a softie. European-style and grass-fed butters tend to be creamier, thanks to their unique fat composition, says Gina Mode, a coordinator at the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research in Madison.
Zap it. If you forgot to take butter out of the fridge at least an hour before serving it, place the stick in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl, then heat at 10-second intervals until it’s soft.
Make the cut. Slice butter into pats and arrange them on a plate; they’ll soften faster than a stick does.
Shred it. Grate cold butter over pancakes or veggies before serving; it will melt evenly.
