Why it works: Sugar and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Method of Preserving Butter for Years
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pound together the sugar, nitre, and salt.
After churning, ensure the butter is completely free from milk.
Salt and pack
Mix the powdered mixture into the butter at a ratio of 1 ounce of powder to 1 pound of butter.
Press the salted butter into wooden vessels or vitrified jars, avoiding glazed pans.
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
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Forms the base that the salt mixture is worked into and packed for storage.
- Best salt
- Draws out moisture and inhibits microbial growth, helping the butter keep.
- Nitre
- Acts as a curing agent that helps preserve the butter against spoilage.
- Fine lump sugar
- Adds a mild sweetness that balances the sharpness of the salt.
The step that matters
Ensure the butter is completely free from milk. Residual milk solids and water hold the bacteria and moisture that cause spoilage, and they can work against the salt mixture. Thorough working after churning removes them so the preservative can act evenly throughout the butter.
“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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