CULTURED COMPOUND BUTTER

Ingredients

For 8 sticks (2 lb) Cultured Butter

  • 4 quarts / 3.8 L heavy cream

  • ½ cup / 120 ml buttermilk

MAPLE CINNAMON BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 18 g maple syrup

  • ½ tsp / 1.2 g ground cinnamon

  • ¼ tsp / 1.5 g fine sea salt

HONEY FLAKY SALT BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1 tbsp / 21 g honey

  • ½ tsp / 2 g flaky sea salt

GARLIC HERB BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1 tbsp / 12–15 g garlic confit, mashed

  • 1 tbsp / 4 g mixed fresh herbs (parsley, chive, thyme)

  • ¼ tsp / 1.5 g fine sea salt

HARISSA BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1½ tbsp / 22 g harissa paste

  • ¼ tsp / 1.5 g fine sea salt

CHILI CRISP BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1½ tbsp / 20 g chili crisp (solids + oil)

  • ¼ tsp / 1.5 g fine sea salt

MISO BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1½ tbsp / 25 g white or yellow miso

SEAFOOD BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1 tsp / 5 g lemon zest

  • 1 tbsp / 4 g finely chopped fresh dill or parsley

  • 1 small clove / 3 g garlic, grated

  • ½ tsp / 1.5 g Old Bay seasoning

ROAST CHICKEN BUTTER

  • 4 oz / 113 g butter

  • 1 tsp / 5 g lemon zest

  • 1 tbsp / 4 g finely chopped fresh sage or thyme

  • ½ tsp / 1 g black pepper

  • ¼ tsp / 1.5 g fine sea salt

Method

Making Cultured Butter

1. Combine: Pour the heavy cream into a large clean container. Stir in the buttermilk until fully combined.

2. Culture: Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 24–36 hours, until slightly thickened and lightly tangy.

3. Whip: Transfer the cultured cream to a stand mixer (whisk attachment) or food processor. Whip on medium-high until the cream goes from whipped → grainy → fully separates into butter solids and liquid buttermilk. Stop immediately once separation happens.

4. Drain: Strain off and discard (or save) the liquid buttermilk.

5. Wash: Add ice-cold water to the butter and knead/squeeze it to wash out remaining liquid. Drain and repeat until the water runs clear.

6. Shape: Press and knead the butter firmly to remove as much water as possible. The butter is now ready to portion into 8 sticks and flavor as desired.

Making Compound Butters

1. Soften: Let the butter soften to room temperature.

2. Combine: Add the flavoring ingredients.

3. Mix: Mix until completely uniform.

4. Mold: Pack into butter stick molds.

5. Chill: Chill until firm.

Additional Notes

This is a lot of butter, so make sure you have an appropriately sized bowl for your stand mixer—I made a huge mess.

Washing the butter is the most important step; I did this about 7 times, which may have been overkill, but I wanted the water as clear as possible. Better to be safe than sorry.

The flavors you see are obviously the flavors I made, but feel free to experiment on your own!

Storage Guide

Butter Type - Refrigerated Shelf Life - Frozen Shelf Life

Cultured Butter - 3 to 4 weeks - 6 months

Maple Cinnamon Butter - 2 weeks - 3 months

Honey Flaky Salt Butter - 2 weeks - 3 months

Garlic Herb Butter - 1 week - 3 months

Harissa Butter - 3 weeks - 3 months

Chili Crisp Butter - 3 weeks - 3 months

Miso Butter - 3 weeks - 3 months

Seafood Butter - 1 week - 2 months

Roast Chicken Butter - 1 week - 2 months