Holidays are around the corner and we are churning butter all day, all week long. Last week our butter maker brought in a sample of 84% butterfat instead of the normal 86% butter: oops should we say!!!!!
This batch of butter was set aside and donated to a local bakery in exchange for brownies and cookies for everyone at the creamery, great deal!
But, this raised a question: what is the real difference between 84% butterfat butter and 86%, does 2% really matter, and how can you tell?
The response: ABSOLUTELY, but we needed to show proof to our team here, so here are the Test Kitchen results:
Pan sauteing test:
1 ounce of each butter
2 identical pans used
2 burners on high heat
Butter placed in each pan at the same time
84% turned brown in less than 1 minute
86% stayed cream colored and bubbling after 1 minute
Conclusion: smoking point difference = YES
Cookie test:
Butter was used at the same temperature
Same exact recipe and measured ingredients
Oven at the same temperature
Baking time identical
84% cookies, brown and crispy
86% cookies, soft and chewy
Conclusion: cookie texture difference = YES
The 86% butter in the pan was later used to saute some scallops with a finishing touch of crème fraiche for the sauce and the cookies, although half the batch was eaten warm out of the oven and the other half made it into the office.
Finishing sauces is where you can also see the difference in thickness and taste the with a high fat butter, this will be our next test kitchen experiment.
