The Versatile Ingredient Bobby Flay Keeps Stocked In The Fridge

Imagine having something in your fridge that you could add to savory or sweet recipes, baked goods, and sauces that would up the flavor profile of virtually any dish. Although it sounds like every foodie's dream come true, there is one ingredient that lives up to that versatility and that ingredient is browned butter. Also called "brown butter," it is unsalted butter that has been slowly heated up until it melts and then kept on the heat a bit longer, which is a process that Simply Recipes points out causes the milk solids in butter to change from a golden hue to a rich brown color.

But it's not just the color difference that makes the process so magical and delicious. As Martha Stewart outlines on her website, brown butter also features a fragrant aroma that imparts a smoother, somewhat nutty flavor to the butter. And Stewart isn't the only famous cook who likes to use brown butter. Chef and Food Network star Bobby Flay explains in a recipe shared with "Today" that you can make more than your recipe calls for and store it in a sealed container in the fridge so that brown butter can be worked into numerous dishes.

Although you may have heard of adding brown butter to chocolate chip cookies or brownies, it can also step up other recipes like cakes, fish dishes, and pastas, as Flay explained to "Today." Once you try brown butter, you may start experimenting with it more and you may be pleasantly surprised at how well the flavor and silky texture works in a plethora of dishes. Epicurious details 27 ways to use brown butter and among them is using it to cook your eggs, pouring it over popcorn, and drizzling it over fish.

The Spruce Eats also reports a number of ways to incorporate brown butter, including adding some sage and turning it into a pasta sauce and making an indulgent brown butter fudge. While drizzling it over food and using it in sauces and desserts all sound like scrumptious ways to incorporate this nutty, buttery wonder, Bon Appétit takes a couple unexpected twists on using brown butter, including using it to pan fry battered onion rings and adding it to hot sauce for a spicy condiment that has layers of flavor.