Brine for Butter
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
In a large pot, combine the salt, water, saltpetre, and loaf sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then pour the boiling water over the ingredients.
Let the mixture settle and cool completely.
Strain the brine through a coarse, thick cloth to remove impurities.
Brine the butter
Wrap each roll of butter in a separate cloth.
Place the wrapped butter in a jar and pour the cooled brine over it.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the brine and draws water out of the butter, helping preserve it.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds a mild sweetness that balances the sharpness of the salt.
The step that matters
Cool the brine completely before pouring it over the butter. Warm or hot brine would soften or melt the butter, spoiling its texture and making the wrapped cloths greasy and uneven.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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