Butter
| Form | Unsalted, solid |
|---|---|
| Role | Fat · structure, flavor, creaming |
| Storage | Fridge, 1–3 months; freezes well |
| Season | Year-round |
| Allergens | dairy |
| Pantry staple | no |
| Price | $4.49 / 1 lb |
| Nutrition | |
| Per teaspoon | 34 kcal |
| Per tablespoon | 102 kcal |
| Per cup | 1628 kcal · 227 g |
| Per 100 g | 717 kcal |
| Approximate; enter values from a source you trust. | |
Description[edit]
Butter is roughly 80% milkfat, 16% water and a little milk solid. It does three different jobs in a kitchen: creamed with sugar it traps air and leavens; melted it coats flour and tenderizes; in a pan it is a flavor-carrying cooking fat. Which job it is doing decides what can replace it.
Find out more[edit]
Used in[edit]
| Recipe | Qty | Unit | Job in the recipe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banana bread | 0.5 | cup | melted |
| Buttermilk pancakes | 3.0 | tbsp | melted |
| Chocolate chip cookies | 1.0 | cup | creaming |
| Classic shortbread | 1.0 | cup | creaming |
| Garlic mashed potatoes | 4.0 | tbsp | cooking |
| Lemon bars | 1.0 | cup | cutin |
| Pound cake | 1.0 | cup | creaming |
Can stand in for[edit]
Substitutions[edit]
| Use instead | When its job is | How much | Confidence | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margarine | any | × 1 | high | Nearly identical result. Cookies spread slightly more and taste a little flatter. |
| Margarine | cutin | as base rule | Works in a crust; slightly less flaky. | |
| Vegetable shortening | any | × 1 | high | Taller, softer cookies and flakier crusts, but no butter flavor. Add ⅛ tsp salt per ½ cup. ⚠ Flavor loss is obvious in shortbread and pound cake. |
| Vegetable shortening | cooking | as base rule | medium | Fine for frying; no flavor to give the pan. |
| Olive oil | any | × 0.75 | medium | Use ¾ the amount. Denser, moister crumb. ⚠ Oil cannot be creamed. Where the recipe creams butter and sugar, the texture changes a lot. |
| Olive oil | melted | as base rule | high | Use ¾ the amount; mix with the wet ingredients. Moister, keeps longer. |
| Olive oil | cooking | × 1 | high | One-for-one. Higher smoke point; adds its own flavor. |
| Olive oil | creaming | as base rule | low | Skip the creaming step and whisk oil with sugar. Expect a flat, dense result. ⚠ In shortbread or pound cake this is a different dessert. |
| Olive oil | cutin | as base rule | low | Cannot be cut into flour. The crust becomes a press-in oil crust: crisper, less flaky. |
| Coconut oil | any | × 1 | medium | One-for-one. Chill it first if the recipe creams; use refined to avoid coconut flavor. ⚠ Labeled as a tree nut by the FDA; check with anyone who avoids tree nuts. |
| Coconut oil | creaming | as base rule | Chill until firm, then cream. Cookies spread a little more and set crisper. | |
| Coconut oil | cooking | as base rule | high | Good for roasting and sautéing; flavor is noticeable unless refined. |
| Greek yogurt | any | replace half the butter with the same volume of yogurt | low | Replaces half the butter with an equal volume of Greek yogurt. Denser, tangier, fewer calories. ⚠ Quick breads only. Do not use in cookies, shortbread, crusts, or pans. |
| Greek yogurt | melted | as base rule | medium | Swap half the melted butter for yogurt; the loaf stays moist and tightens slightly. |