Butter is already a cook’s best friend, but stir in one or two pantry staples and it becomes a pocket-sized sauce. Lemon myrtle butter freshens pan-fried fish; porcini butter is a spread to use on everything from toast to grilled meat; Café de Manilla offers a spin on traditional Café de Paris, replacing French ingredients with Filipino staples like lemongrass and prawn paste. These flavoured butters offer easy upgrades for busy nights, backyard barbecues and even quick breakfasts.
Salted kombu lends gentle sweet-salty-savouriness to this flavourful butter, which also involves ingredients like lemongrass, garlic and fish sauce. Melt a spoonful over grilled prawns, steamed greens or plain rice for a simple depth of flavour.
Grilled king prawns with kombu butter Source: Dan Hong
Whip butter and honey together until pale, creamy, light and fluffy. Spread it on all manner of baked goods. Thank yourself.
Apple bread with whipped honey butter Source: Alan Benson
This bistro classic blends butter with fresh herbs, anchovy and curry powder. Freeze the log, then slice a coin to rest on hot steak, fish or roast vegetables and let it melt into a ready-made sauce.
Source: Jiwon Kim
The aromatic, anise-like dimensions of fennel seeds add a little something-something to dishes. This butter can be used with sweet and savoury meals—or just some crusty bread.
Fennel butter Source: Benito Martin
Native Australian lemon myrtle lends a clean citrus note to softened butter. Spoon onto savoury and sweet dishes for a fresh and fragrant finish.
Source: Danielle Abou Karam
Experience the same sort of excitement of a swirl of caramel through vanilla ice-cream can bring, but with a swirl of molasses through butter.
Grandma’s biscuits with molasses butter Source: Food Network
This chunky, umami-rich spread is extremely versatile. You'll be wishing you made a bigger batch.
Porcini butter. Source: Benito Martin
The sweet and grassy aromas of the countryside, in spreadable form.
Honey & oregano butter Source: Benito Martin
Davidson plums are an indigenous Australian ingredient that grows in northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. It has an acidic fruitiness that works well with the creaminess of butter. Together, they are a match made in heaven for grilled scallops and seafood.
Scallops with Warrigal greens and Davidson plum butter Source: Dan Freene
Smoky chipotle mayo is a popular condiment for grilled seafood, tacos, and pulled pork buns — so why not chipotle butter? It works in the same scenarios as mayo, as well as slathered on barbecue corn and roasted vegetables.
Grilled corn with chipotle butter and manchego. Source: Benito Martin
This butter comes from the Pyrénées region of France, where it's often served with grilled snails — but if snails don't take your fancy, serve it with your preferred grilled meat or vegetable. The walnuts and herbs add bulk and crunch to the butter, so it can be used in place of a sauce.
Snails with herb and walnut butter (escargots aux beurre d’herbes et de noix). Source: Benito Martin
Truffles and butter are one of those age-old pairings. You can use truffle butter to fancy up scrambled eggs, pasta, mashed potato, fried mushrooms (for extra earthiness) — or, take it along to a picnic spread with a crusty loaf.
Truffle butter. Source: Adam Gibson
This tangy and savoury combination of olive oil, garlic, anchovies, butter, white pepper and lemon juice can be used to add a little kick to dishes, mashed potatoes, or a unique element to a sandwich.
Pickled celery, cress and anchovy butter sandwiches. Source: Sharyn Cairns
Anchovies and garlic are cooked into melted butter then finished with fresh herbs for a spread you can brush over the top of freshly baked bread, finish steaks, stir through pasta or perk up steamed vegetables.
Source: Jiwon Kim
Blistered cherry tomatoes are blended until smooth with butter, ground turmeric and fresh thyme, with chopped parsley folded through to finish. This result is a butter that carries gentle tang from tomatoes and earthy warmth from turmeric, adding vibrant colour and a mild spice to everything from mussels to scrambled eggs.
Source: Jiwon Kim
Blitz together butter, saltbush leaves, parsley, lime juice and zest and spoon as a solid over fish before baking, spread under chicken skin before roasting. Or, you can melt the butter into a sauce for grilled meat or vegetables, the saltbush bringing a subtle salty-herbaceous note.
Source: Jiwon Kim
Merne ntange is the Arrernte word for food from plants and seeds, combining two indigenous food groups. Think of this as a Café de Paris butter of native Australian plants and herbs.
Source: Adam Liaw
When butter foams and browns, it develops delicious nutty caramel notes. Drizzle a little over pan-fried fish, steamed vegetables or gnocchi— or even mix some into cookie doughs and cake batters for extra depth.
Mix together shallots, yuzu juice and softened butter in a bowl, spoon mixture onto a piece of cling-film and seal, rolling into a log, then freeze for 30 minutes. Lay a few slices of the hardened butter over seafood to serve — the Japanese citrus yuzu brings a brightness and vibrancy to butter's rich creaminess.
Abalone with yuzu butter Source: Born to Cook: Jack Stein Downunder
Butter spiced with capers, mustard powder, ancohy fillets, lemon juice and zest, turmeric and cayenne pepper
Melt butter with paprika, cumin and coriander seeds for a quick spice base. Brush over corn cobs or swirl into lentil soup. Clarified butter infused with warm spices keeps well in the fridge. Add a spoonful to sautéed spinach or drizzle on roast pumpkin. This simple spiced butter combines everyday cupboard spices with butter. Use it to finish fried eggs, couscous or grilled chicken.
Source: Mr Wilkinson’s Simply Dressed Salads
This riff on Café de Paris uses Filipino flavours like ginger, spicy shrimp paste, lemon coconut vinegar and coriander in place of French, for a lively edge to dress up grilled meat or vegetables.
Source: Derek Swalwell
All buttered up
Brown crabs in beer with brown butter mayonnaise
