Preparing whipped butter can be a great way to make it easier to spread as well as limit the amount of calories in your food without sacrificing taste. Some of the best tips for doing so include bringing the butter to room temperature prior to whipping it and using a mixing stand with a deep bowl. Usually, you will need to whip the butter twice to incorporate enough air into it and to combine any other ingredients thoroughly. If you want to make a large batch of whipped butter, one of the best tips is to incorporate a small amount of flavorless oil to keep the butter spreadable even when cold.
While butter is best kept in the refrigerator especially during the warmer months, cold butter can be difficult with which to work. Attempting to whip cold butter will likely be an effort in futility; for this reason, one of the best tips for making this spread is to let the butter sit on your counter, away from direct sunlight, for three to four hours. Letting the butter soften before you work with it will not only save you a fair amount of time and frustration, but also make it easier to fully incorporate any other ingredients you want into your whipped butter.
Another good tip for making a butter spread is to use the deepest mixing bowl that you have. In order to incorporate the right amount of air into the butter, you will have to use a relatively high speed on your mixer. If you use a shallow bowl, you can expect butter to be everywhere except in the dish.
Perhaps one of the best tips for making whipped butter is to avoid the urge to rush the process and allow the time to beat the butter twice, rather than trying to mix everything together at once. For the first stage, whip the butter on its own until it is light and fluffy, which can take anywhere from one to ten minutes, depending on how much butter you have and the strength of your mixer. Once you reach this stage, you can begin to add any other ingredients to your spreadable butter, including milk, oil, or seasonings, before starting the second, and final, stage of whipping the butter.
Yet another good tip for making whipped butter is to plan ahead for how much of the spread you will use and whether or not you will have to store any of it. If you are making a fresh batch for one meal and intend to use all of it, you typically will not need oil. In the event that you plan to make a batch of whipped butter to keep on hand for toast, pancakes, or other dishes, adding some oil is a necessity, preferably one with a light flavor, such as canola or vegetable. Butter that is whipped without oil will return to a solid state after refrigeration, meaning you will have to start from scratch the next time. Oil, however, keeps the butter soft, even if it is cold, making it easy to store homemade whipped butter for later use.