A smooth, fatty substance made by churning cream. Although butter is usually made from cow's milk, it can also be churned from the milk of other mammals such as goats, buffalo, or camels. It is a key ingredient in the cuisines of many countries because of its unique flavor. It is used primarily in sauces, pastries, and various soups. Since butter burns more easily than oil, it should not be cooked at high temperatures. However, it can withstand higher temperatures when used in combination with oil.

Butter should be eaten in moderation, because it contains high levels of fat, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol. But for normal everyday use we tend to buy butter by brand name or according to country of origin or by price, the cheaper being the blended ones. Both for eating and cooking it is always better to buy a good quality, since a low grade can have such an overpowering flavour that it spoils the taste of fresh vegetables and delicate sauces such as hollandaise. 

Buy only a week's supply at a time and, if possible, take out of the refrigerator some time before using it. Re wrap what has not been used and keep it well away from strong smelling foods in the refrigerator, particularly anything flavoured with garlic, and soft fruits such as strawberries butter absorbs these flavours, and once tainted will not recover. Butter freezes well. Butter can either be salted or unsalted. 

Salting used to make all the difference between butter that kept fresh and that quickly went rancid. Salt still improves the keeping qualities, the deposits in salted butter burn at a fairly low temperature. Unsalted butter has a sweeter taste. It makes an excellent table butter and is preferred in cooking. Its delicate flavour lends itself particularly well to cakes, and it is better than salted butter for frying. Unsalted butter has fewer of these deposits and so can withstand higher temperatures. 

Butter can be blended with a number of ingredients to make delicious garnishes and fillings for sandwiches. Mix it with garlic to make the classic accompaniment for snails and with herbs, especially parsley, to serve with fish or meat. With Roquefort cheese it is delicious with steak, and with pounded anchovies, lobster coral or mustard it makes an excellent garnish for fish. The addition of a little oil will prevent butter from burning when cooking, but perhaps the best butter for frying very delicate foods is clarified butter, from which all the milk solids have been removed. This is the ghee used in India, but only for special occasions a less expensive vegetable ghee is used for everyday cooking.

This can be salted or unsalted and is also known as sweet cream butter, made from unripen cream. The cream is pasteurized, deodorized, cooled and placed in ageing tanks for at least 12 hours before being turned into butter. Salt, which acts as a preservative, can be added during this time. British, New Zealand and American butters tend to be of this type.

This is also known as lactic butter, and like fresh cream butter can be either salted or unsalted. A pure culture of lactic bacteria is introduced to the cream, which is then allowed to ripen to develop a delicious, slightly acid flavour before the butter is made. This butter has a slightly more pronounced taste than fresh cream butter and is also softer.

Which contains much more water than regular butter, is normally used only as a sandwich spread. It contains only half as many calories as regular butter, as well as 50% less fat, 46% less cholesterol, and 25% less salt.

Which is slightly lower in calories and fat than regular butter, should not be used in recipes that call for regular butter. It is normally used only as a sandwich spread.