18 Types Of Butter And What Each Is Used For

What do steak, crispy toast, and croissants have in common? They are all made (or made better) with butter! Butter is one of the most integral ingredients used in cooking across cuisines and regions around the world. According to the Food Network, it was believed that the first type of butter ever made was in 8000 B.C. in Africa. A shepherd likely made a journey across the continent with a satchel filled with sheep's milk. Under the hot conditions of the journey, along with the jostling movement underneath him, sheep's milk likely turned into a proto-butter. Eventually, people started using butter as a more stable dairy product from animals including yak, sheep, and goats. Since then, folks have used butter as a religious offering, as well as an integral culinary tool for cooking and baking. 

But is all butter the same? Of course not! Many different types of butter have been honed through years of industrialization and processing. Here are some of the most popular types you'll find in your grocery store, along with how best to use each type.

If we talk about salted butter, we also have to talk about unsalted butter. Unsalted butter does not include salt, meaning that it is just churned cream. You can find unsalted butter in the same section of your grocery store as salted butter — just make sure you read the label to pick out the one you need. Joy the Baker notes that salted butter tends to have a longer shelf life, but masks rancid flavors better than unsalted butter. If you suspect your butter has gone bad, you should smell it to see if there is an odd aroma stemming from it.

Unsalted butter should exclusively be used for baking and recipes that require a lot of care on the sodium front. You'll have greater control over how much salt is in your cookies, pies, and cakes if you use unsalted butter. The lower water content of unsalted butter is also better for the texture of baked goods. If you're cooking for an individual with a low-sodium diet, using unsalted butter will impart the same buttery flavors just without the sodium.

You may think that sweet cream butter implies that there is sugar involved. However, this label just means the butter is made with pasteurized milk or cream. Sweet cream butter also does not undergo fermentation, so the butter has a slightly creamier and sweeter flavor than conventional butter. Another important difference between sweet cream and regular butter is the color: regular butter contains slightly more fat, so it has a more pronounced yellow hue (via Fanatically Food). You can find both salted and unsalted varieties of sweet cream butter.

The flavor difference between sweet cream and regular butter is relatively subtle. You can use sweet cream butter for almost every use as regular butter. One of our favorite ways to use sweet cream butter, though, is to spread it on fresh summer corn on the cob. Use salted sweet cream butter to play off the sweetness of the corn and the saltiness of the butter.

Cultured butter is butter that has been introduced to a bacteria culture. The inclusion of a bacterial culture help increases the flavor and tanginess of the butter without altering its texture too much. In essence, cultured butter is the opposite of American-style sweet cream butter (via Vermont Creamery). Once the bacteria have been introduced to the cream, the cream can be left to sit for as little as 24 hours before it is ready to be churned into butter. If you don't have access to live bacteria cultures at home, you can use buttermilk to make your own cultured butter instead. 

Cultured butter is the ideal ingredient for finishing vegetables, bread, and appetizers. Although you can use it earlier on in the cooking process, if you want the tangy flavors to shine through, you'll want to wait to add it until the end. 

Ghee is a cornerstone ingredient for many dishes from the Indian subcontinent. Although ghee follows the same basic steps as clarified butter, it is simmered longer and, as a result, has a darker color than clarified butter. Ghee is used in moderation in Indian and South Asian dishes including as a drizzle on chapati or as an oil to cook curried vegetables. This butter product can also be used as a stabilizer for acidic flavors in dishes and can help provide an underlying nutty flavor.

One of the misconceptions about cooking with ghee is that it can be used interchangeably with brown butter. There are no milk solids to brown when it comes to ghee since clarifying skims them off. However, ghee may be a preferred replacement for folks who cannot digest lactose. Ghee does contain trace levels of casein, though, so it may not be suitable for folks with dairy allergies (via Milkio)

In short, compound butter is butter mixed with additional flavors, herbs, or seasonings. You can make a simple herb-infused compound butter at home by stirring softened butter in a bowl with chopped parsley, chives, lemon, and salt. Then, form the butter into a log on a piece of plastic wrap and seal up the ends. You can schmear this butter on a fresh baguette for an easy appetizer, or use it to complement your morning bagel. 

Compound butter can also be useful for finishing steak. You can use your homemade herb compound butter or craft something a little boozier for your post-grill rituals, like a bloody Mary-inspired compound butter made by adding Worcestershire sauce and vodka. Or, add make a compound butter with a splash of whiskey, dijon mustard, shallots, and chopped parsley. 

There isn't a more decadent butter than brown butter. When butter is heated in a pan, the milk solids begin to caramelize, which produces tiny brown flecks of butter that change its color to a light brown and make its aroma and flavor nuttier than regular butter.

Adding brown butter is one of the easiest ways to upgrade your chocolate chip cookies. You'll get more of a toffee undertone from these cookies. We especially recommend adding caramel pieces to your cookies to amp up the flavor even more. You'll just want to be sure to cool your butter before adding it to your cookie dough to stop your cookies from spreading. You can also add brown butter to Hollandaise sauce for an upgraded eggs Benedict. 

Irish butter is often associated with the Kerrygold brand sold by most major grocers. Irish butter has a much yellower hue than other types of butter; this is because the cows ingest more beta-carotene into their diets, which gives their stored fat and milk a golden tint. The reason for this is that the pasture in Ireland receives high rainfall, which in turn speeds the growth of the grass the cattle graze on. Irish butter has the same amount of fat as European butter at 82%, which makes it spread easier than lower-butterfat varieties. 

You'll want to use Irish butter for fresh applications and cooking alike. The color of Irish butter is super appetizing, which makes this type of butter great for making into a TikTok-inspired butter-board. 

Smen is a type of cultured butter endemic to Morocco. NPR describes this fermented butter as "stinky," which is the result of the butter being mixed with lactic acid bacteria and stored in an airtight space for up to two years. Adding salt to smen slows some of the decomposition and maximizes the stinkiness of the butter — which, for more aged varieties, can begin to taste and smell like blue cheese. The butter can also be infused with honey, olive oil, and dried meat for flavor. 

Smen is often eaten during Ramadan and on special occasions. Moroccans add butter to flavor couscous, top bread, or even upgrade their coffee. If you visit Morocco, you can find smen in supermarkets, but NPR notes this store-bought variety is usually thinner and less flavorful. 

Grass-fed butter all relates back to the kind of diet the cows making the milk consume. Grass-fed butter has a stronger, more intense flavor than standard butter but does not have a difference in butterfat content like Irish or European butter. There are some variations in the exact taste of the butter — which, according to Everyday Health, correlates to the location and types of grass the cows are eating. 

One of the most common ways people consume grass-fed butter is by drinking it. Keto meal enthusiasts have created concoctions like bulletproof coffee, which mixes coffee with grass-fed butter and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil. There is not enough evidence to suggest that this beverage has any impact on health, and there are more claims that mixing this fatty concoction actually does more harm than good to the body (via Healthline).