Butter is expensive. Am I right? But when my husband was diagnosed with high cholesterol and diabetes a few years ago the dietitian preached the evils of margarine loud and clear. So we eat butter.
.
Here’s a trick that has really saved my budget… I make my own butter spread! It is so simple you won’t believe it. Plus, it gives butter the spreadability of margarine. Plus, it tastes like butter – because it IS butter.
.
All you do to make this spread is combine 1 part butter to 1 part combined canola oil (or any healthy low-flavor oil) and water. YES, water! Crazy, right?? I usually do 1 C butter (2 sticks), 1/2 C canola oil & 1/2 C water. You can vary your oil/water ratio if you want, but this combination works really well!
.
Make sure your butter and water are at room temperature. Mix your butter for quite awhile with an electric mixer on high (I prefer to use my Kitchenaid for this while I get the other ingredients ready). You want it to get light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to medium and slowly add the oil into the butter. Then slowly add in the water. Continue mixing until combined. The spread should have a fluffy, almost too soft consistency. Don’t worry about that! Just put a lid on it and put it into the refrigerator. Within a couple of hours you will have a butter spread that has a wonderful consistency!
.
Don’t add salt or you could find it separating. Also, this is very WHITE, so feel free to add a little food coloring if you really want to. I’m fine with white.
.
This spread has the added benefit of being lower in fat and calories than regular butter. You can’t go wrong with that! My family LOVES this stuff and I hope yours will, too!
.
PS – My husband has lost nearly 100 pounds and cured himself of diabetes and high cholesterol through healthy eating!
shazbraz
Thank you for posting this; so excited to try it!!
kgarff
I’ve been making my own butter for a while (you let heavy cream come up almost to room temperature then put it into an airtight container with at least 2 times the volume of the cream, and shake it until the fats stick together, which takes maybe 15 minutes). The benefits are that you get a much better texture, better flavor, and I figure if you’re making your own, you’re working off the extra calories that you’re taking in. Additionally, when you’re finished you can strain it through cheesecloth and you’ll have real buttermilk, which is completely different than what you buy in the store. And you can easily add herbs and spices for flavored butter (I often go for basil and/or garlic, but it’s hard to go wrong with any flavor that you like).
The downside is that it has a higher fat content than American butter. It’s closer to European butter, which is processed differently. It becomes very solid when refrigerated and can be a pain to deal with. I can’t wait to try this with my next batch. If this can make it healthier and easier to spread I am going to be one happy mama.
whitlarson
I’ve been looking at making my own butter, but haven’t tried it yet. You’ll have to let me know how this spread works for you! 🙂
sedonasue54
Could this be made with olive oil?? Has anyone tried it that way?
whitlarson
Yes. You can definitely make it with olive oil, but it has a stronger flavor, so I recommend light olive oil. 🙂