Homemade Buttery Spread

I’m not sure what to call this stuff.  My post the other day about eating real food caused me to reflect on what we spread on bread.   Traditionally, we don’t use butter in my house.  I don’t buy margarine either, but I do buy butter spreads- our favorite being Brummel & Brown.  So we use this spreadable stuff on bread, pancakes, waffles, toast, and things of that nature.  The appeal of the spreads is that they are spreadable right out of the fridge- cold butter is not.  But have you ever read the label of a butter spread?  Yeah… more of those chemicals and stabilizers and things we cannot pronounce and wonder if we should be eating.

So last summer, while at my aunt and uncle’s house celebrating Independence Day, I learned very easily how to make my own spread, but then completely forgot about it until the other day.  Then, of course, that led to me asking Andy if he remembered the proportions, and a message had to be sent to find that all out.

Easy as pie.  You only need two ingredients.  A stick of real butter and 3 fluid ounces of the oil of your choice.  Choose a heart healthy oil, such as canola, olive, peanut, sunflower or safflower oil.  Personally, I prefer a neutral tasting oil as well- canola and peanut work well there.  Olive oil is good, but a nicely flavored olive oil just doesn’t taste as well to me spread on toast and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  But use olive oil if you prefer.  I’m using peanut today.

Let the butter soften to room temperature.  Once it’s very soft, put it in a mixing bowl along with the oil.  Use a whisk or a hand mixer to blend the two together.  Your mixture will look like unset pudding.  This is exactly the consistency you are looking for.

Then you simply pour it into a resealable container and pop it in the fridge.  The spread will set up a bit once chilled, but it’s completely spreadable cold and out of the fridge.  Perfect for using anytime a smear of butter is called for.

If you want to make it in a larger quantity, use two sticks of butter (1 cup) to 3/4 cup of oil.  And of course, you can also use this as a platform for a multitude of other uses.  Use these proportions and add garlic and herbs for an instant spread for garlic bread.  Really, creatively speaking, you could probably mix in just about anything to customize your own delicious spreads straight out of the fridge.  Just keep in mind that fresh foods, like fruit bits, fresh garlic and herbs will shorten the shelf life to about a week.  But I imagine they could be frozen for long term storage.

Homemade spreadable butter.  It’s an excellent thing and a great budget stretcher.

Budget-Friendly Ideas - by Erika

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