11 Types of Butter: How Butter Is Made

Butter is commonly a dairy product made from cream, though it also comes in non-dairy formats. Butter softens to a spreadable consistency at room temperature (approximately sixty degrees Fahrenheit), and you can use it as a spread, condiment, or cooking ingredient. Its rich taste and flavor make it a valuable addition to many recipes, both as a fat for sautéing and frying and an ingredient in baking recipes and sauces, especially in French cuisine. When heated, butter enhances the taste of the food while also adding texture and a nutty flavor. Depending on the storage method, butter’s shelf life is one to three months if refrigerated and up to one year if frozen.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grades butter based on various categories, including flavor, body, and salt content. Grade AA butter is the highest graded butter: It’s the most spreadable and has the most pleasant butter flavor. Grade A butter is slightly stronger in flavor and more coarsely textured, while Grade B has a less buttery flavor and a more crumbly or sticky structure.

Producers typically make butter from cow’s milk. However, they can also use milk from other domestic animals, such as sheep’s milk or goat’s milk, to produce butter. Cream is the primary ingredient in butter and consists of the layer of milk skimmed away before homogenization. This layer contains milk’s fat content, called butterfat. Churning or agitating cream releases the fat from its fatty acid and protein membranes, resulting in solid butter and a liquid called buttermilk.

The solid butter is typically pale to deep yellow and even white, depending on the species and diet of the animal used for milk. Some commercial butter producers add food coloring, such as carotene, to enhance the butter’s color.

There are many types of butter. Some of the most popular types include:

1. 1. American butter: American butter is the most traditional butter found in grocery stores in the United States. It comes in two varieties—salted and unsalted versions—and contains eighty percent butterfat (per the requirement of the USDA) and fifteen percent water. Unsalted butter is best used in baked goods, such as brownies or pie crusts, while salted butter works when making everything from toast to sauces and roasted meats.
2. 2. Amish butter: Amish butter is similar to American butter, but producers make it by churning fresh cream with higher fat content, which they then roll into one- and two-pound logs. American butter contains eighty percent butterfat, while Amish butter contains eighty-four to eighty-five percent. A taste test can also determine the difference between the two kinds: Amish butter has a creamier taste.
3. 3. Clarified butter: Clarified butter is butter heated to its melting point and then cooled, causing the butterfat and water to separate and the milk solids—protein, lactose, and other minerals—to rise to the surface before producers skim them off. Ghee is a form of clarified butter that gets heated to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, causing the milk solids to brown and flavor the butterfat; it’s a major component in South Asian cuisine. All forms of clarified butter have a higher smoke point—the temperature at which it emits smoke— than regular butter, making it the best butter to use in high-heat recipes.
4. 4. Compound butter: This type features whipped, unsalted butter mixed with sweet or savory ingredients and flavors. It’s a versatile butter for all kinds of meals: Compound butter with rosemary, oregano, and basil complements steak, while butter and minced garlic make delicious garlic toast.
5. 5. Cultured butter: To make cultured butter, producers add live bacterial cultures to fresh cream and allow the mixture to ferment before churning. The result adds a tangy and complex flavor to recipes.
6. 6. European butter: European-style butter has between eighty-two and eighty-five percent milk fat, which lends a tangy flavor and rich consistency to baguettes and pastries like Chef Dominique Ansel’s French croissant recipe. Butter from Europe varies considerably according to its region: Irish butter has eighty-two percent milk fat but a deep yellow color and exceptional taste due to the grass fields of Ireland. It’s laden with beta carotene, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty, which grass-fed cows impart into the butter along with the flavor.
7. 7. Homemade butter: You can make butter at home quite easily. Add high-grade cream, such as grass-fed cream, to a blender or mixer and combine for about seven minutes. Pour off the liquid and add seasoning; homemade butter is great for cooking and spreading.
8. 8. Light butter: Traditional butter churned with more air, water, and fillers, like lactic acid, than butterfat creates light butter. While it contains less milk fat than regular butter, it is more advisable for use as a spread than for cooking.
9. 9. Organic butter: Cream from cows raised without antibiotics or hormones and fed a diet of organic feed containing no synthetic fertilizers is the primary ingredient of organic butter. However, organic butter cooks similarly to regular butter and even comes in salted and unsalted varieties.
10. 10. Plant-based butter: Plant-based butters use various non-dairy ingredients—from olive oil and avocado to almonds—to create a variation that tastes, cooks, and spreads like butter made from cream. It’s the butter of choice for vegan appetites and those with dairy allergies. Learn how to make your own vegan butter.
11. 11. Sweet cream butter: Sweet cream butter is another term for any butter made with fresh cream. However, some may use the term “sweet cream” to describe salted butter.

Margarine and butter are two types of spreads made from different ingredients. While butter uses saturated fats like butterfat, margarine’s primary ingredient is vegetable oil, which contains unsaturated fats that may help lower forms of cholesterol. However, margarine and butter in stick form also often contain trans fats—to help hold their shape—making them less healthy for regular consumption.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Alice Waters, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, and more.