How to make brown butter and how to use it

If you haven't heard of brown butter , today a whole new world will open up for you. Brown butter, also called noisette butter, hazelnut butter, golden butter , brown butter or toasted butter, is the ingredient that works wonders in any recipe, whether baking or savoury recipes, and it's super easy to make. Brown butter levels up any recipe you make with it (there's a reason some people call it "liquid gold"!).

Very popular in France and known there as beurre noisette or brown butter in English, it takes its name from the aroma it contains (it has an unrivalled hazelnut flavour ) and its colour (the butter turns a toasted colour).

Today I'm going to tell you how to toast butter to make the popular Beurre noisette and how to use it. It will take you 5 minutes to prepare it and you'll be amazed at all you can do with it!

How to make brown butter

Making brown butter is a piece of cake. You want to remove the non-fatty part of the butter (i.e. remove the whey, the water), and then toast the butter until it turns a golden or light brown color, without burning it.

To make it, you only need half a stick of butter or a whole stick and a saucepan or frying pan. Here's how to make it:

1. Cut the butter into cubes of a similar size so that it melts and browns evenly.
2. Place it in a saucepan or deep frying pan and turn the heat to medium.
3. Let the butter melt completely (about a minute) and keep it there, stirring constantly.
4. You will see it start to bubble, followed by a period of intense splashing. This is the whey (the part we want to remove) starting to evaporate.
5. Keep it on the heat until it stops popping, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to minimum if it splashes a lot. The process will take about 4 or 5 minutes.
6. When the butter stops splashing, you'll see a foam of light bubbles forming, the butter has started to turn golden, and there are some solids in the liquid (these are the milk solids, which will settle to the bottom). In about a minute, your brown butter will be ready!
7. To know that your noisette butter is ready, there are two indicators: first, the colour, which should be golden brown and the solid remains should take on a toasted colour (never too much, or it will have burnt!). The second indicator is the smell: after a minute after it stops splashing and has taken on a golden colour, you will begin to smell a toasted, caramelised, hazelnut aroma. That's it!
8. If you want a mild noisette butter, you can remove it at this point. If you want a more intense noisette butter, keep it on the heat for another minute, stirring constantly, to toast it more without burning it, or you will ruin the caramel flavour you have achieved.
9. When it is at the desired point, it is important to remove it into a heat-resistant container or bowl (if you keep it in the saucepan, it will continue to toast with the heat it retains).

Brown butter can be browned more or less, but it should not burn (example of slightly browned and slightly more browned butter):

WMF Fusiontec ladle, WMF bamboo cutting board and Pallarès butter knife

Note: Brown butter is also called beurre blond (blond butter) or beurre brun (brown butter).

How to use brown butter

While traditional butter is creamy and helps you prepare wonderful recipes, brown butter is a different world. It is the ingredient that, due to its aromas, will improve any recipe in which you use it.

You can use the brown butter in liquid form (after it has cooled down, if you like) or store it tightly covered in the refrigerator. It will solidify and you can use it in the following days.

Uses for brown butter:

• For cakes : Any recipe that calls for butter should actually call for brown butter – replace some of the butter in your recipes with it.
• Add it as an ingredient to your cookies : everyone loves cookies... but they'll love them even more if you make them with noisette butter.
• To make pancakes : add a touch of hazelnut butter to your pancakes.
• For breakfast, toast: nothing like enjoying breakfast with traditional butter or brown butter.
• Add it to granola , you'll see how delicious it tastes and how the flavor of the noiesette butter blends with it.
• Add it to waffle recipes.
• Add the aroma of hazelnut to your crepe recipe.
• Roast chickpeas on a tray with herbs and the beurre noisette takes on an unrivaled flavor.
• Add it to popcorn when you make sweet popcorn at home.
• Fried eggs , scrambled eggs, microwaved eggs, or eggs for making omelettes... add a touch of this butter on top, it will enrich their flavour, without forgetting to add the other condiments you are going to accompany them with.
• When you prepare mixed sandwiches , toast them in noisette butter. You will see what a twist to those traditional sandwiches!
• In pasta : add a splash of liquid butter to your cold pasta salads, or sauté the pasta in a pan or wok with noiesette butter when you serve it hot (don't forget to add your other ingredients to that pasta, from anchovies to cheese, dried tomatoes, olives, vegetables...
• Prepare the fish , either on the grill or in the oven, with noisette butter: you will love a good splash of this butter, both on white and blue fish.
• Add it to mashed potatoes - you'll be amazed at how delicious the flavour will be on your potatoes.
• Also in oven- baked potatoes .
• Sauté vegetables in a pan or wok with noisette butter, or add it when grilling vegetables. You surely know how good vegetables taste with the nutty flavour.
• For roasting meats , either on the grill or in the oven - add butter to the base of the grill or brush it on the meat you are going to roast (or add a good pat of butter to the base of the cocotte or tray you are preparing it in).
• Make bread with noisette butter, like soda bread: it is easy to add this butter to the recipe and it will add a nutty flavour to the bread.
• To make sauces : mix the brown butter with herbs, spices, vinegar, lemon, mustard, honey, fruit... The mixture with any of these ingredients can be used to season fish, meats and sauces. Try out your favorite mixtures!

I hope I've convinced you about using Brown Butter. Ever since I discovered it, I've always kept my little jar in the fridge to use on everything. If you dare to make it, I'm sure you'll feel the same way. I'd love to hear about it!

Claudia.

NOTE! Difference between brown butter and ghee

When people talk about brown butter, they often think of ghee, or they can be confused, but they are not the same. It is true that both ghee and brown butter are products derived from butter, but they differ in their production process and in some of their characteristics.

Ghee is a type of clarified butter that originates from India. It is produced by melting butter over low heat, allowing the fat to separate from the water and milk proteins. The solid residue and water are then removed, resulting in a purified, golden fat, which is traditionally used in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine. Ghee has an intense flavour and is very stable at high temperatures, making it ideal for cooking and frying.

Brown butter , on the other hand, is butter that has had the water removed and cooked over medium-low heat until the milk solids turn golden brown, giving it a toasted nutty flavor and aroma. Brown butter is cooked slowly and not fried, as cooking at too high a temperature can cause the milk solids to burn and produce a bitter taste. Unlike ghee, brown butter retains the milk solids, giving it a slightly grainy texture. Brown butter is often used in French cooking and baking to add flavor and aroma to breads, cakes, sauces, and other dishes.

In short, the main difference between ghee and browned butter is that ghee is produced from clarified butter, removing the solid residue and water, while browned butter is slowly cooked until the milk solids turn golden brown and are retained in the final product. Both products have distinctive flavors and uses in cooking, and are typically used in different types of dishes or recipes .