Unsalted
Mellow sweet cream flavor
Use: Baking cookies, cakes, pancakes, bread pudding, and enriched breads
Salted
Slightly piquant notes amongst mild cream flavor
Use: Sauteing vegetables, making pasta sauce or caramel sauce, scrambling eggs, and spreading on toast
Sweet Cream
Mildly sweet if unsalted, slightly sharper if salted
Use: (Unsalted) Making muffins, crepes, brownies, frostings, and cornbread. (Salted) Smearing on biscuits or corn on the cob
Cultured
Tangy, acidic, and fuller lactic flavor
Use: Making galettes, coffeecakes, soups, risottos, or smeared on a slice of bread
Clarified / Ghee
Grassy, roasted, and nutty notes
Use: Sauteing fish or vegetables, making a hollandaise, or dipping cooked seafood
Organic
Tangy, smooth, and slightly sweet
Use: Accommodating organic diets while providing the same use as unsalted butter
Plant-Based
Real butter-like flavor with a slightly oily aftertaste
Use: Accommodating vegan or dairy-free diets while providing the same use as unsalted butter
Grass-Fed
Bright, rich, creamy, and cultured
Use: Roasting vegetables or fish, making pasta sauce, biscuits, pie crusts, and shortbread cookies
European-Style
Rich, tangy, slightly sour but overall creamy flavor
Use: Baking croissants, brioche, puff pastry, biscuits, profiteroles, pie dough, and eclairs
Spreadable / Margarine
Creamy with an oily aftertaste
Use: Spreading on toast, pancakes, waffles, vegetables, or dolloping on mashed potatoes
Whipped
Mild, light, slightly oily
Use: Spreading on bread, waffles, and pancakes
Goat
Mildly tangy and pungent with an overall bright and smooth flavor
Use: Smearing on artisan bread, dressing vegetables, and baking butter-based cookies
Smen
Strong, piquant, and cheesy flavor
Use: Spreading on crackers or toast, cooking tagine or couscous, or blending into coffee
Amish
Mild, milky, and slightly acidic
Use: Baking whoopie pies, soft pretzels, shoofly pie, faschnauts, apple dumplings, and other traditional Amish recipes
Compound
Imparts the taste of the herbs, spices, and/or sweeteners mixed in
Use: Finishing cooked fish, meat, and vegetables, or making a quick pan sauce
Browned
Caramel and nutty notes
Use: Making cookies, brownies, granola, pancakes, waffles, or savory sauces.
FoodXology 