Butter Types

The three main types are uncultured, cultured, and European-style.

Uncultured or sweet cream butter, churned from pasteurized cream is the supermarket standard.

Cultured butter is made from cream that has been fermented with 'good bacteria', and it is churned longer and slower, according to the American Butter Institute.

European-style butter is made similarly, but not all European-style butters are cultured.

Both cultured and European-style butter have less water, more butterfat (from 82 to 87 percent) and a tangier, deeper flavor than mellow, sweet cream butter. There are salted and unsalted versions of each.

There are other variations of butter, such as 'light' butter, which has more water and about half the fat and calories than regular butter, but because it is made to be spreadable, it also contains preservatives and emulsifiers. Whipped butter gets its light, spreadable texture from nitrogen whipped into it after churning. USDA-certified organic butter comes from cows raised on organic, pesticide-free feed, without antibiotics or growth hormones.

Salt adds flavor and extends the shelf life of butter. According to the US Butter Institute, unsalted butter has a two-week refrigerator shelf life and salted butter two months. The USDA is a bit more generous, giving a range of one to three months. What you buy from the store has probably been in cold storage for longer than that. If you are not using your butter quickly, it will stay fresher if you store it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to nine months.

11 Interesting Uses For Butter

• If you have anything sticky on your hands, like glue, tar, or paint, just rub with butter, then wash with soap and water.
• Gum in hair comes off easier if rubbed with butter.
• Tree sap on a car comes off easier if rubbed with butter before washing.
• Cutting things like marshmallows, pies, toffee, dates is easier if you slice the knife through butter first so it does not stick.
• Butter works like oil to shine shoes, baseball gloves, etc. Just put some on a cotton swab and rub in.
• Large pills can go down a bit easier if rubbed with a bit of butter before swallowing.
• Butter works like expensive skin oils to soften cuticles and nails and to soften dry skin. it can also be used in a pinch to replace shaving lotion.
• Rubbing butter on hard cheese helps keep down mold if you rub it on the cut edge before wrapping.
• Dingy dusty holiday candles can be brought back to life by rubbing with butter. It cleans and brings back the shine.
• Difficult to remove rings slide off easy if you apply butter first.
• After handling and cleaning fish, rub some butter on your hands before washing with soap and water to remove the smell.
• Last, butter is not good to rub on burns, use an ice cube instead.

Eleven More Uses for Butter

Butter has many more uses than just for sandwiches and sauteing.

• If you have anything sticky on your hands, like glue, tar, or paint, rub with butter, then wash with soap and water.
• Gum in hair comes off easier if rubbed with butter.
• Tree sap on a car comes off easier if rubbed with butter before washing.
• Cutting things like marshmallows, pies, toffee, dates is easier if you slice the knife through butter first so it does not stick.
• Butter works like oil to shine shoes, baseball gloves, etc. Just put some on a cotton swab and rub in.
• Large pills can go down a bit easier if rubbed with a bit of butter before swallowing.
• Butter works like expensive skin oils to soften cuticles and nails and to soften dry skin. it can also be used in a pinch to replace shaving lotion.
• Rubbing butter on hard cheese helps keep down mold if you rub it on the cut edge before wrapping.
• Dingy dusty holiday candles can be brought back to life by rubbing with butter. It cleans and brings back the shine.
• Difficult to remove rings slide off easy if you apply butter first.
• After handling and cleaning fish, rub some butter on your hands before washing with soap and water to remove the smell. (Butter is not good to rub on burns, use an ice cube instead.)

Kitchen Tip

Use a cheese grater for easier spreading of cold, hard butter. When you are buttering bread, pastries, etc., it is difficult when the butter is hard. Rather than waiting for the butter to soften, you can quickly solve the problem with a cheese grater. Grate the butter over whatever you are making. This process generates a little bit of heat and the smaller pieces of butter will melt faster and spread better when they hit a warm piece of toast or while mixing dough for pastries.

Nine Ways to Keep Food Fresh Longer

• Put onions in pantyhose, and tie knots between onion - will last up to 8 months.
• Freeze green onions in a plastic bottle. Make sure the green onions are completely dry before storing or they will get freezer burn.
• Use a vinegar solution to make your berries last longer.
• Spray leftover guacamole with cooking spray before putting it back in the fridge.
• Store potatoes with apples to keep them from sprouting.
• Add a dab of butter to the cut side of cheese to keep it from drying out.
• Wrap celery, broccoli, and lettuce in tin foil before storing in the fridge.
• Keep ginger in the freezer.
• Keep mushrooms in a paper bag, not a plastic bag.

Six Uses for Butter

Butter isn't just good for topping toast and popcorn. There are plenty of other things it is useful for, such as:

Swallowing pills: Coat the pills with a thin layer of butter to make them go down easier, especially bigger pills and ones that have no coating.

De-stress cats: If you're moving or throwing a party, your cat can get a bit stressed by the sudden change in the environment. Put a little dab of butter on the top of her paws. She'll be distracted by cleaning herself.

Prevent cheese mold: Put a thin coat of butter on the cheese after you cut it so it won't get too hard or start molding, especially harder cheeses.

Preserve onions: If you cut an onion in half and decide to leave the other half in the fridge, coat the exposed side with a bit of butter to keep it fresh longer.

Five Fun Food Facts

Several states used to require margarine to be dyed pink to appease the dairy lobby and keep butter sales strong.

The Quaker Oats guy's name is Larry.

Twinkies originally had banana-flavored filling. Hostess switched to vanilla after bananas were rationed during World War II.

Oklahoma’s official state vegetable is the watermelon.

The eight juices in V8 are tomato, spinach, celery, carrot, beet, lettuce, watercress and parsley.

Grating Butter

When you're buttering your bread, or other goodies, it is a pain when the butter is cold and hard. Instead of microwaving or waiting, you can solve the problem with a cheese grater. Grab your butter brick and grate it over whatever you're going to eat. This process generates a little bit of heat, but mainly the smaller pieces will melt faster and spread better when they hit your warm piece of toast or muffin. It works on bread for sandwiches and is also a good idea for baking.