What is Fermented Butter Used For? A Guide to Its Tangy Flavor and Versatile Uses

Historically, cultured butter was a happy accident of churning soured cream, a process that adds a rich, complex character. So, what is fermented butter used for today, and how can its tangy flavor upgrade your favorite recipes?

Quick Summary

Fermented butter, or cultured butter, adds a complex, tangy flavor to dishes. Its higher fat content creates flakier baked goods, while its nuanced taste elevates sauces, seared meats, and simple spreads. It’s a versatile gourmet upgrade.

Key Points

• Enhanced Flavor: Fermented butter has a distinct, tangy flavor that elevates the taste of both sweet and savory dishes.

• Superior Baking: Its higher butterfat and lower moisture content create flakier crusts for pastries and tender crumbs in baked goods.

• High Smoke Point: Due to less moisture, it has a higher smoke point, making it ideal for searing meat and seafood.

• Gourmet Spreading: The rich flavor is best enjoyed simply spread on fresh bread, biscuits, or pancakes where it can shine.

• Versatile in Sauces: It adds depth and richness to butter-based sauces like classic beurre blanc.

• Probiotic Benefits: Some cultured butters contain beneficial bacteria that may support a healthy gut microbiome.

Understanding Fermented Butter

Fermented butter, also known as cultured or European-style butter, is made from cream that has been fermented with live bacterial cultures before churning. This process, similar to making yogurt or sourdough, gives the butter a distinctive, slightly tangy, and nutty flavor profile that sets it apart from standard sweet cream butter. The fermentation not only deepens the flavor but also results in a butter with a higher butterfat percentage and lower moisture content, which has significant impacts on its culinary applications.

Fermented Butter in Baking

In baking, where the richness of butter is often the star ingredient, fermented butter can create superior results. Its high butterfat percentage is a key advantage. For laminated doughs, like croissants and puff pastry, this higher fat content results in more defined, flaky layers. For pastries and cookies, it delivers a richer, more profound buttery flavor that regular butter can't match.

Best uses in baking:

• Croissants and Danish Pastries: The high butterfat ensures exceptional flakiness and a luxurious texture.
• Shortbread Cookies: For recipes where butter is the dominant flavor, cultured butter adds a complex, almost savory depth.
• Biscuits and Scones: The lower moisture content helps create a light and flaky texture.
• Pound Cake: Using fermented butter results in a finer crumb and a more buttery aroma.
• Buttercream Frosting: It adds a welcome tanginess that cuts through the sweetness, balancing the flavor.

Fermented Butter in Cooking

Beyond baking, fermented butter is a secret weapon in the savory kitchen, prized for its robust flavor and higher smoke point. The lower moisture content means it can withstand higher temperatures before burning, making it excellent for sautéing and searing. Its tangy profile also makes it a perfect finishing touch, adding a layer of complexity to many dishes.

Top uses in cooking:

• Searing Meats and Seafood: Use it to sear thick cuts of meat like steak or to add rich flavor to seafood dishes like shrimp scampi or paella.
• Classic Butter Sauces: Fermented butter is the traditional choice for creating elegant, emulsified sauces like beurre blanc.
• Finishing Vegetables: A pat of cultured butter melted over steamed or roasted vegetables enhances their flavor significantly.
• Compound Butters: The tangy base is perfect for mixing with herbs, garlic, or other seasonings to create a gourmet compound butter.
• Mashed Potatoes and Polenta: Stirring in fermented butter at the end adds a creamy texture and a delicious depth of flavor.

Fermented Butter: The Simple Pleasures

Sometimes, the best way to enjoy fermented butter is the simplest. Its rich flavor and creamy texture make it an outstanding spread. A thick layer on warm, crusty bread is a timeless delight, with the tangy notes of the butter perfectly complementing the bread's aroma. It is also phenomenal on other simple carbohydrate-based foods.

Simple uses for spreading:

• Toast and Sourdough Bread: A classic pairing that highlights the butter's full, complex flavor.
• Pancakes and Waffles: The tanginess adds a delightful counterpoint to the sweetness of syrup.
• Corn on the Cob: A slab of cultured butter melting over fresh corn adds unmatched flavor.
• Biscuits and Dinner Rolls: The perfect complement to a hot, homemade biscuit or dinner roll.

Fermented Butter vs. Regular Butter

To better understand why you might choose fermented butter over its regular counterpart, here is a comparison of their key attributes. This table highlights how the fermentation process fundamentally changes the butter's characteristics.

Feature	Fermented Butter (Cultured Butter)	Regular Butter (Sweet Cream Butter)
Flavor Profile	Rich, complex, tangy, slightly nutty, more intense dairy flavor.	Mild, sweet, creamy, neutral, less pronounced dairy notes.
Buttermilk Content	Lower moisture due to lactic acid breakdown.	Higher moisture content.
Fat Content	Typically higher butterfat, around 82% or more, resulting in richer products.	Standard American butter is around 80% butterfat.
Texture	Softer, creamier, and more velvety at room temperature.	Firmer and more solid at room temperature.
Smoke Point	Higher smoke point, suitable for searing and sautéing at higher temperatures.	Lower smoke point, more prone to burning.
Best For	Recipes where butter is a featured ingredient (pastries, butter sauces) and simple spreading.	General, all-purpose cooking and baking where a neutral flavor is desired.

Conclusion: The Final Word on Fermented Butter Uses

Fermented butter is more than just a passing trend; it is a time-honored ingredient that adds a touch of gourmet flavor to a wide array of dishes. Its versatility, from creating flakier baked goods to adding rich depth to sauces, makes it a valuable addition to any culinary repertoire. While it may be a bit more expensive than standard butter, reserving it for recipes where its unique, tangy flavor can truly shine is well worth the investment. Whether you're a seasoned baker aiming for the perfect croissant or a home cook looking to elevate a simple meal, understanding what fermented butter is used for is the first step toward unlocking a new level of culinary excellence. Your taste buds—and your guests—will certainly thank you. For more insights on maximizing the flavor of your cooking, consider exploring guides on high-quality ingredients and classic techniques.

A Final Tip: Where to Buy and How to Use

Most modern grocery stores now carry cultured or European-style butter in the dairy aisle, often alongside other specialty butters. When using it, remember that its richer flavor is most noticeable in dishes where butter plays a starring role. For recipes that are heavily spiced or involve browning the butter, the complex notes may be lost, so consider saving your higher-end fermented butter for more prominent applications. Start with a simple spread on toast to experience the difference for yourself.

For a truly authentic taste of European cuisine, try making a traditional beurre blanc sauce with fermented butter. The sauce's rich, tangy flavor and silky texture are the perfect demonstration of this ingredient's power. By exploring the many answers to what is fermented butter used for, you can start incorporating this versatile and flavorful product into your everyday cooking and baking.

For a recipe on a classic sauce that highlights fermented butter, see the Martha Stewart guide on this special ingredient: What Is Cultured Butter and How to Use It.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you substitute fermented butter for regular butter?

Yes, you can use fermented or cultured butter as a one-to-one substitute for regular sweet cream butter in most recipes, but expect a richer, tangier flavor in the final dish.

Why is fermented butter better for baking?

Fermented butter typically has a higher butterfat content and lower moisture than regular butter, which results in a flakier texture for pastries and a finer crumb for cakes.

What does fermented butter taste like?

Fermented butter has a richer, more complex flavor than standard butter, with a slight tangy or nutty note reminiscent of yogurt or crème fraîche.

Is fermented butter the same as European-style butter?

Yes, fermented butter is often referred to as European-style butter because it follows the traditional European method of adding live bacterial cultures to cream before churning.

Can fermented butter be used for searing meat?

Yes, its lower moisture content gives it a higher smoke point than regular butter, making it well-suited for searing meats and vegetables.

How do you use fermented butter for spreading?

To best appreciate its flavor, simply spread a thick layer of fermented butter on fresh sourdough bread, warm biscuits, or flaky croissants.

Does fermented butter contain probiotics?

Since it is made from fermented cream with live cultures, it can contain beneficial probiotics that may support gut health.