Butter

by Elaine Khosrova

The delicious kitchen staple we so often take for granted is not merely a stick tucked into our refrigerator door. It's a culinary catalyst, an agent of change, a gastronomic rock star. From its accidental invention in a long-ago herder's pouch to its ubiquitous presence in the world's most fabulous cuisines, butter is boss. Now, it finally gets its due. Award-winning food writer and Chef Elaine Khosrova serves up a story as rich, textured, and culturally relevant as butter itself. From the ancient butter bogs of Ireland to the sacred butter sculptures of Tibet, Butter is about so much more than food. Khosrova details its surprisingly vital role in history, politics, economics, nutrition, even spirituality and art. From its humble agrarian origins to its present-day artisanal glory, butter has a fascinating story to tell, and Khosrova is the perfect person to tell it. She even includes the essential collection of carefully developed core butter recipes, from beurre manie and croissants to pate brisee and the perfect buttercream frosting, and provides practical how-tos for making various types of butter at home - no churning necessary.

• ISBN10: 1616203641
• ISBN13: 9781616203641
• Publish Date: 15 November 2016 (first published 10 November 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I hesitated for while over this one; I mean, how much can really be said about butter?  It seemed like a stretch.   It would have been too, if the entire 344 pages had just been about the story of butter.  But, in fact, only about half the book is dedicated the butter's rich history and present day revival.  And wow, what a rich history is was too; I had no idea that butter carving is a thing or that it is so intricately tied to so many ceremonies of worship around the world.  The prologue about Yak milking in the mountains of Bhutan caught my attention and the rest of the 10 or so chapters held it firmly, especially chapter 8, which not only discusses all the reversals in diet advice happening today, but inadvertently serves as an indictment of sorts on modern journalism.  Chapter 8 left me with a lot to think about.   The second half of the book is used to share recipes that without butter would not exist: pound cake, buttercream frosting, pie crusts, etc.  I'm definitely trying the scones and the pull apart biscuits sooner rather than later.     The best part, for me, though is at the end, when she gives step by step instructions for making your own fresh butter, cultured butter, ghee, clarified and compound butters.  I almost bought the book just for these pages and I'm not disappointed.  I can't wait to try making my own butter (as soon as I figure out the Aussie translation of "heavy" cream).  As she says, you'll almost never save any money making your own, but I think it would be fun to be able to say "I made my own butter!".   Recommended for history and food lovers - or people deeply interested in where their food comes from.

[Mystereity Reviews]

Read my full review on my blog at Mystereity Reviews.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to read and review a cookbook that recommended using a high fat butter. While that book went into a little bit of detail on what constituted high fat butter, I realized I still had a lot of questions after a discussion on my review about how to find high fat butter. So when I requested this book, I hoped to learn more about how to choose a good butter for baking and got a whole lot more.

Butter: A Rich History, by Elaine Khosrova, explores not only the mechanics of making butter, but also the sociological, biological and the cultural aspects of butter and answered questions I didn't even know I had, from which cows give the richest milk to the best way to store butter. The recipes included in the book sound delicious and look easy to make and I can't wait to give a few of the recipes a try.

Overall, Butter is a very well researched and entertaining book that will make you better appreciate the rich, thick, creamy slab of butter you slather on your toast.

Thank you to Algonquin Books for the ARC to read in exchange for my honest review