Lemon butter is a type of cooking tool that can be purchased from the store or made on your own from scratch. When making the butter at home, you might consider using lemon juice in lieu of the fruit in order to save time and to make a stronger taste. The exact type of butter that you purchase or choose to make ultimately depends on for what dishes you need it. Some lemon butters act more as a spread to add to certain food items, while others have the consistency of a sauce.
The demand for packaged butters continues to increase as consumers are looking for the most convenient methods of meal preparation as possible. Although plain butter is standard in terms of availability in supermarkets, some specialty stores offer flavored versions as well. Lemon butter is sold in some grocery stores, but it can be difficult to locate in certain regions. These butters generally consist of plain butter flavored with lemon juices during processing; such products might not actually contain real fruit extracts.
An alternative to packaged lemon butter is to make it yourself at home. If you prefer to churn your own butter, you can add ingredients during the final stages to make this product. Perhaps the easiest way to make it is to purchase plain butter from the store and to add other ingredients to it. Grated rind from lemons and their juices are the most common features in the butter. You might consider using prepared lemon juice because it is quicker to use, and the flavors are stronger.
Other ingredients used to make lemon butter ultimately depend on what dishes you are making. If you are using the butter for meats or vegetables, then you will want to stick with as few ingredients as possible. Some recipes call for the use of herbs, such as parsley, when making lemon butter sauce for certain meals. If you want a sweeter butter to add to breads and desserts, you can add white sugar, marshmallows, and honey. Generally, you will need to add some cornstarch or flour in order to help the ingredients stick together.
Butter is traditionally used as a spread, but it is also melted down before use in some dishes so that it can help to mix other ingredients together. When you are making lemon butter at home, you usually need to melt all of the ingredients together beforehand. If you desire a more spread-like consistency, you can refrigerate the lemon butter upon cooling.