Unfortunately, the relationship between food and health is never black and white. What is unhealthy in one era, is as healthy as hell in the next. Take butter for example. When I was young, it was the scourge of all, whether or not you had a heart problem. My grandmother was recommended to consume low-fat margarine instead of butter due to her heart condition. Would this advice still be the same today? Butter has bounced back into the realm of healthy food and is now what some would call a superfood.
For me, butter, because of its purity, is one of the best products to cook with and consume. There is nothing purer than butter. It is a magical fat that has many applications in every area of the kitchen. I could not imagine using margarine in any of my restaurants. Does anyone know how margarine is actually made? I would think you take a load of random fats and emulsify them together, add some water and flavouring, and some other god awful stuff.
Margarine is sold by marketing, butter is sold by flavour. I could show anyone how to make butter, even the greenest novice cook or home baker. I think it’s something that everyone should do, either by themselves or with their kids. Make butter. Make bread. Sit down and eat it. That is a complete food experience that would bring together any family or community.
To make a beautiful farmhouse butter, take one litre of cream. Add 30ml of buttermilk and 10g of salt. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. The next morning (or the following one!) put the cream back in the refrigerator and chill. When its good and cold, place the cream in a kitchen aid and whip it vigorously until it splits. You’ll know because it will start to spit everywhere.
Strain the buttermilk from the butter and reserve. Squeeze the butter with your hands to remove the last of the buttermilk. I like to roll the butter in clingfilm into a nice cylindrical shape but it’s not necessary. All that’s left is to sprinkle a nice coarse Irish sea salt over the butter when you serve it.
