Compound Butters - Cheap Ways of Seasoning Foods

Sometimes all you need in a recipe is butter. You can add herbns to that butter to add more flavor as well, creating a compound butter. Feel free to cook it on your seafood, steaks, chicken, corn on the cob, vegetables, breads, etc. It's simple, it's a cheap way of seasoning food, and the options

Herb: Herbs, spices, aromatics: Ginger, shallots, garlic, scallion, fresh herbs, cracked or ground spices, citrus zests just scratch the surface. Herbs should be very dry before mincing them and adding them to the butter.


Salt: I tend to buy only unsalted butters, but a little bit of fine sea salt really helps bring out the flavor of all the ingredients in a compound butter.

Acid: Vinegar or citrus juice adds balance to the mix. While mixing, be sure to blend a few drops at a time.

Sweet: Add a bit of honey or superfine sugar. These butters are delicious on warm breads and waffles. They can also be great on savory dishes, like a sage and honey butter on fish.

Along with some of the suggestions that are provided in the article, you make your own "wild card" compound butter. Flavors like this would be anchovy paste, dried fruit, cocoa powder, almond or vanilla extracts, etc.

Don't limit your self to just one flavor, as the options are mix-and-matchable. Experiment and find the most creative, budget-friendly and tastiest option for yourself.


Here is a slide show on how to begin making your own compound butters.