Your Brown Butter Will Be Way Better With One Simple Upgrade
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Brown butter has long been considered regular butter's chic, sophisticated cousin, providing a toasty twist to countless classic, everyday dishes. Whether or not you realize it, you've likely tasted trace notes of brown butter's nuttiness in recipes — like this easy brown butter sage sauce for pasta — as its versatility spans from savory plates like scallops to sweet, melt-in-your-mouth baked goods like brownies or cookies. If you haven't already, you should start using brown butter in your recipes. Regardless of your brown butter experience level, though, adding milk powder will enhance its richness and flavor and will ultimately elevate your recipes from delicious to restaurant-worthy.
Introducing milk powder to your brown butter (which we can teach you how to make in the microwave, by the way) may strike you as confusing or unnecessary, but just trust us. This simple upgrade will increase the amount of milk solids in your brown butter, ultimately intensifying your recipes' caramelized flavors. Since these toasted milk solids are what give brown butter its unique depth, it follows that adding milk powder will increase its rich flavor profile. Butter-forward recipes like Rice Krispies treats, chocolate chip cookies, and (on the savory side) noodle dishes in brown butter sauce can all benefit from the addition of milk powder.
How and when to add milk powder to brown butter
Milk solids (as found in milk powder) are essentially a powdered byproduct of dehydrated milk. The key to amplifying your brown butter with this ingredient is to add the milk powder to your pot while your butter is browning and to keep stirring so you avoid any burning while cultivating that perfect golden brown hue. The quantity of milk powder required will vary based on what you're making, so be sure to check your recipe. If it's not listed, add approximately 2 tablespoons of milk powder per stick of butter.
If the notion of taking your brown butter — and your corresponding recipes — to the next level intrigues you, but you're still unsure where to get milk powder, don't worry. It's available at many grocery chains, including Giant Food, Costco, Walmart, and Whole Foods, and it's readily available through Amazon from a variety of brands and at many different price points. Whichever milk powder you purchase, prepare to be blown away by your next batch of brown butter. You can live your richest recipe life with the addition of this simple ingredient.