TikTok Is Swooning Over A Miso Butter Flavor Bomb
Similar to parmesan and anchovy, miso is one of those ingredients that provides depth to your dish without being prominent or overpowering. It lends umami, a salty earthiness, to recipes. Miso is fermented soybeans and koji, mold cultivated from grains. Miso has been likely been used in Japan since the seventh century and can be found in different colors, with varying tastes and aromas, per Marukome. The lighter miso tends to be milder and sweeter than the caramel-colored versions, which can be pretty intense, per King Arthur Baking.
Aside from the traditional use in Japanese cuisine, chefs have been experimenting with miso in sweet and savory dishes in every type of cuisine. Sweet desserts are being balanced with the addition of miso to create that perfect sweet/salty combination our taste buds love, according to Wall Street Journal. Miso can be used in brownies, ice cream, donuts, and any baked good that benefits from an earthy, caramelized flavor, according to Mina Park of Microbakery 99 in Brooklyn, New York (via King Arthur Baking). Although far from a new ingredient, the latest trend to gain traction on TikTok incorporates miso butter.
Miso butter
A TikToker is dedicated to "All Things Butter," demonstrating how to make compound butter in dozens of flavors. The user recently posted a video making and using miso butter, which has 4.8 million views. Compound butter sounds fancy, but as the TikToker demonstrates, it's just a few ingredients blended to create a 'flavor bomb.' A shortcut for chefs.
To make the miso butter, they combine softened butter with miso paste and a drizzle of honey to give you that salty and sweet combo. The butter is melted on cabbage halves pan sears to golden perfection. Followers love the cooking video, commenting, "Miso happy u posted this made my day butter," and, "Is buttertok a thing? I never want to leave." Sweet and Savory suggests storing compound butter in the refrigerator for up to a week or wrapped in parchment paper, as the TikToker demonstrates, but it lasts longer in the freezer. When you need a little, slice off a knob and top your next grilled steak, baked potato, roasted veggies, or bread.
"All Things Butter" has additional flavor combinations worth exploring. Black truffle butter is used to top pasta (yum). Or a sweet caramelized pecan burnt butter that is smeared on a muffin that looks delicious. The options are limitless: Time to whip up some compound butter now so you can drop a flavor bomb later!