Tea Is The Underrated Ingredient That Can Elevate Compound Butter

Compound butter is all about creativity. Softened butter blended with sweet, savory, spicy, or zesty ingredients can hit a lot of notes your taste buds will love, but if you haven't tried a version of this spread infused with the herbs, florals, and spices of tea, you are missing out. Tea may not be your first thought for a compound butter, but because teas hit a spectrum of flavors, they can make for an amazing option.

If you choose a minimalist approach, all that is required to make this compound butter is a little bit of your desired tea brewed to the strength you like, along with some loose tea, ground up and mixed in with your dairy to create a butter with tea influences. However, if you like your tea a little on the sweet or citrusy side, you could add in some honey and lemon zest that could be used for everything your toast to chicken or steak. But how do you decide what type of tea to add to your butter?

Earl Grey tea can be delicious when mixed with this velvety cream, taming the rich butter flavor with its bergamot orange tones. This compound tea-infused butter will taste equally as delicious when frying up French toast as it will with an egg. Additionally, if you are making sugar or shortbread cookies, this butter will add a lovely subtle flavor to your baked goods.

If you are a fan of turmeric tea, use your favorite recipe and add this to your butter along with some maple syrup and pepper for an earthy, sweet, yet spicy taste for your tongue all wrapped up in one spread. This can be used for your morning bagel, for added flavor when roasting your favorite veggies, or to change up each forkful of your chicken and rice. However, if you prefer a good matcha, add a few teaspoons to your softened butter with a little honey and use it on your English muffin or scone. If you like the taste of your matcha to be strong, simply add more of it. That's the beauty of a compound butter made with tea.