How To Make Restaurant-Quality Whipped Butter In Your Own Kitchen

There's something other-worldly about the fluffy, creamy butter served with bread at restaurants. It tastes better and is more spreadable, and yet, it's often the same type of butter you have at home. So what gives? How do restaurants get their butter to taste so much better than at home? Well, there are a few factors ranging from storage techniques to taking the time to whip it up. The good news is that you can have restaurant-quality whipped butter in your own kitchen. All it takes is a little bit of milk and a couple of minutes.

First, make sure you store your butter at room temperature. A lot of people will pop a stick in their fridge which is fine for baking, or cooking, but when it comes to spreadable butter, you'll want to keep some out on the counter. Next, place ½ cup of room-temperature butter in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of milk. Then all you have to do is whip until your arm starts to quake in pain (or about five minutes). If you're not looking for an arm workout, you can use your stand mixer; beat on low for one to two minutes, scrape any crawling butter off the sides of your bowl, and then beat on high for another two to three minutes.

Whipped butter is completely worth the potentially sore arm when you realize how much of that savory milk-fat flavoring comes out during the whipping process. Plus, there's no pressure to eat it all in one sitting (though the temptation is certainly there) because whipped butter can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for a week or so. You can even pre-make it and pull it out at dinner time to impress your friends and family — just make sure you give it time to reach room temperature on the counter first.

There are a lot of different uses for butter, and whipped butter is no different. While we don't recommend baking with it, whipped butter is great as a topper for fresh bread, waffles, or pancakes. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, consider adding some flavor to your butter by throwing in aromatics or honey.