Various Butters

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Strong lint-free linen cloth, about 20 inches (50 cm) square
• •Medium heatproof bowl
• •Wooden spoon or sturdy spatula
• •1-quart (1-liter) heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Food-grade muslin
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Three small covered containers

Instructions

1. 1

   Temper and divide

   Set the portions for beurre ramolli and beurre en pommade at cool room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. They are ready when a finger leaves a clean indentation and each piece bends without cracking, yet the surface remains matte. Keep the portion for beurre clarifié cold until its saucepan is ready. Do not use a microwave; melted pockets destroy the even consistency these first two states require.

   If the kitchen is warm, cut the butter into thick slabs and check it after ten minutes. Pliant is right. Glossy and greasy is too warm.
2. 2

   Knead beurre ramolli

   Lay the first portion in the centre of a clean, strong, lint-free linen cloth and fold the cloth over it. Press and knead through the cloth with the heel of your hand, folding the butter back over itself repeatedly, until it is uniformly supple and the cloth no longer shows damp patches from residual buttermilk. Modern butter may release very little, so judge the work by both signs: no visible moisture and no hard core. Scrape the beurre ramolli into a covered container. If it begins smearing through the cloth, refrigerate the parcel for 5 minutes, then continue. The butter has warmed too far, not failed.

   The cloth must smell of nothing and carry no fabric-softener residue. Butter takes on stray aromas with alarming efficiency.
3. 3

   Work beurre en pommade

   Knead the second portion in the cloth exactly as for beurre ramolli. Rinse a heatproof bowl with hot water, pour the water away, and wipe the bowl absolutely dry. Put in the butter and work it firmly against the sides with a wooden spoon or spatula until it becomes a smooth, homogeneous cream that holds soft ridges. Do not whisk in air. If it looks oily or separates around the edges, chill the bowl for 5 minutes and resume; if hard flecks remain, wrap the outside of the bowl briefly in a warm towel. Ça se rattrape. The finished beurre en pommade should resemble a dense pomade, satin-smooth rather than melted.

4. 4

   Clarify over low heat

   Put the cubed cold butter in the smallest heavy saucepan that holds it comfortably. Set it over the lowest heat and let it melt without stirring. Continue cooking very gently as the bubbling gradually becomes finer and the milk proteins collect and solidify on the bottom. The butter is ready when the fat above is limpid, golden, and faintly nutty in aroma, about 15 to 20 minutes. You are making beurre clarifié, not beurre noisette, so the sediment should be pale gold rather than deep brown. If the fat still looks milky, do not increase the heat; give it several more minutes at the same gentle setting.

5. 5

   Strain the clear fat

   Line a fine sieve with two layers of clean food-grade muslin and set it over a dry heatproof jug. Let the saucepan stand for one minute, then pour the clear golden fat through the muslin, stopping before the sediment on the bottom reaches the sieve. If a little sediment slips through, let the butter settle for 5 minutes and decant it once more through fresh muslin. Leave the cloudy residue behind; this restraint is what gives beurre clarifié its clean finish.

6. 6

   Cool, label, use

   Transfer each butter to a separate clean container and label its state. Use beurre ramolli while pliable for pastes that need butter incorporated without added moisture. Use beurre en pommade where the butter must disperse as a perfectly smooth cream. Let the beurre clarifié cool before covering it, then brush it in a thin, even film over pastry moulds; without milk solids, it coats cleanly and withstands the oven without leaving scorched specks.

Chef Tips

• •Use unsalted butter so the pastry formula keeps control of its own seasoning. A higher-fat butter releases less moisture, but ordinary supermarket butter works perfectly well when handled with attention. Technique first, always.
• •The cloth kneading belongs to this specific formula. Many contemporary pastry instructions begin with commercially washed butter and omit it, but this preparation insists on controlling residual buttermilk before the butter meets a paste.
• •Temperature is written on the butter itself. Ramolli bends and stays matte; pommade accepts the spoon and holds a soft ridge; melted butter shines and pools. Once you see those distinctions, c’est la même grammaire across dozens of pastries.
• •The faint nutty scent in beurre clarifié is the stopping signal, not an invitation to keep browning. Remove the pan while the sediment is pale gold. Blackened or bitter milk solids cannot be rescued.

Advance Preparation

• •Beurre clarifié can be prepared up to 2 weeks ahead and refrigerated in a clean covered jar. For longer storage, freeze it in small portions for up to 3 months and thaw only what the moulds require.
• •Beurre ramolli and beurre en pommade are working states, not permanent ones. Prepare them within an hour of mixing the pastry. If refrigerated, they will harden and must be brought back to the correct consistency before use.
• •The three butter portions can be weighed and wrapped separately the day before. Keep them refrigerated, then temper only the two portions that will become ramolli and pommade.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 14g)