Think there is only butter? Oh just wait until you experience the many, delicious types of butter.

Butter used to be persona non grata in the nutrition world, but since there has been a shift away from low-fat and instead the focus has been on the quality of the fat, recent health studies have shown that lower saturated fats in the diet may not lead to better cardiovascular health. In fact, butter may be a healthier fat choice than some of the frankenfood alternatives out there in the food aisles. Butter is a whole food, after all,  and it can and should be eaten as part of a healthy diet. Moderation, as with many foods, is the key, but first, you need to know about the different types of butter.

If you are new to butter or returning to eating butter, you may not realize that there are different types of butter available in the market. You may even find it confusing to know which one you should use for cooking, eating, and baking. Not only can you be missing out on some of the most amazing different types of butter, but using the wrong butter can lead to costly mistakes, like using the wrong butter in a recipe.

Learn about some of the tastiest different types of butter and how best to use them below.

7 Different Types of Butter

1. Grass-Fed Butter – Grass-fed butter is made from cream that comes from cows that have been allowed to graze naturally on grass. Grass-fed butter is not only better for cows; cows were not designed to grains and the other stuff in feed, but it has a distinctly fresher flavor than conventional butter. Worth the extra money.

2. Salted – Salted butter is also known as regular, conventional, or American-style butter. It is made with at least 80 percent butter fat and made from pasteurized milk. Salted butter is known as a finishing butter, or a butter that would taste great on toast and pancakes. Salt is added to temper the sweetness of the cream and to make miracles come true in your mouth.

3. Unsalted – This the same as regular salted butter, just with no salt. Unsalted butter works better in baked goods, sauces, and dishes that you don’t want to end up being too salty. After all, you can add your own salt to taste.

4. European Butter – European-style butter is the stuff of dreams. It has much less moisture content (coming in with 82-86 percent butter fat) and is much more dense as a result than American-style butter. It is also cultured, or fermented, which gives it a lovely tanginess. Butter can vary by country, so Irish, French, and German butter are all different from each other and from American-style butter. European-style butter works really well in baked goods because of the low moisture content.

5. Ghee – Ghee is clarified butter, or butter that has been rendered to remove the milk solids and water leaving just the liquid gold of butter fat. Used in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine, ghee has a higher smoke point and is more shelf-stable–it can even be stored on the counter. Like coconut oil, if left out of the fridge ghee may become liquid at room temperature (depending on the room temperature) and will solidify when stored in the fridge.

6. Spreadable Butter – A combination of regular butter and vegetable oils, like olive oil, this butter product maintains a soft texture even when refrigerated making it ideal for spreading. Do make sure to read the label to check you aren’t buying something with other ingredients or fillers. Spreadable butter with olive oil can be a good compromise between taste and watching calories from fat. Spreadable butter is not recommended for baking.

7. Clotted Cream – Clotted cream is similar to butter, but it is made differently so that clots of cream develop, rise to the top, and are separated. It is part of a traditional cream tea in England and tastes most delicious when served on scones along with some jam.

Related on EcoSalon

The 3 Best Vegan Butters (Plus 3 Recipes!) for Your Next Grilled Corn on the Cob
Foodie Underground: Everything in Moderation
Did I Just Spend $8 on Butter?

Butter image via Shutterstock

The post 7 of the Best Types of Butter You Probably Haven’t Tried (Yet!) appeared first on EcoSalon.

When perusing the aisles of the grocery store, it’s easy to get confused. Labels scream out at you, claiming that the products they grace are the best of the best, the crème de la crème, listing a slew of guarantees such as “cage-free eggs”, “organic chicken”, “grass-fed beef”, and “pasture butter.” And eating healthy when it comes to meat and poultry requires extra knowledge.

It’s great to have options, and better yet, it’s reassuring to know that food manufacturers are holding themselves accountable to their customers. But, what does it all mean when your goal is eating healthy?

While it may be more expensive to eat pasture-raised, grass-fed, and organic meat and poultry products, it’s worth the extra buck for eating healthy. Red meat has been linked to cancer and it’s because the added hormones in meat increase the incidence of hormone-dependent cancers. If you buy conventional meat, it is more likely than not to have derived from a factory that confines cows to an indoor, practically immovable space, and feeds them grain, which fattens them up faster, but in turn depletes the meat quality and nutritional profile. Instead, have more meatless or poultry-less days. But when you do enjoy them, make it count. The following list gives you a primer in how to read food labels. They may change your life!

1. Cage-free: This label only applies to egg-laying hens. It means that the hens are not in a cage and have unlimited access to food and water. However, it does not mean they get to go outside. This often means that the animal is confined to an overcrowded industrial house with little room to move.

2. Free-range: When you see this term on poultry products, it implies that they are one step above cage-free, in that the animal is allowed to go outside. However, it is not clear what the length of time is that these animals are allowed outside or if the animal ever exercised its right to go outdoors. To make sure that you source your poultry from the most reliable source, look for the “Certified Humane Raised and Handled” logo. This means the farm does not allow cages and require nest boxes to allow chickens to follow their instincts and build nests.

3. Natural: You have probably encountered this label the most. When it comes to meat and dairy products it means that the food product is minimally processed and contains no artificial colors and flavorings. (The same is NOT true for other foods claiming to be “natural.”) However, it doesn’t entail anything about how the animal was raised including exposure to the outdoors or drugs added to the animals’ diets, such as antibiotics.

4. Organic: Meats that are organic come from animals who were not given antibiotics or hormones. Additionally, their feed had no synthetic herbicides or pesticides. To be organic, the manufacturer must be certified by an independent agency.

5. Grass-Fed: This term applies to cattle, sheep, goats, and bison. They must have continuous access to a pasture during growing season and must only be fed grass, forbs, legumes and cereal grains still in a pre-grain (vegetation) state. Grass-fed animals are also not allowed to be confined in a pen or to a feed-stock. They are not given antibiotics and synthetic hormones.

6. Non-GMO: Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are those plants or animals that are engineered by scientists. Essentially, GMO foods are the product of inserting the gene from one animal or plant into another plant or animal, ultimately altering the genetic code of a species. This process is a step above crossbreeding and is now emerging as potentially dangerous. It has proven to have some health and environmental risks and has come under increased scrutiny. Non-GMO foods are those foods that have not undergone this process. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization committed to verifying foods that uphold the standard of not being genetically modified. Look for the Non-GMO Project seal.

Pasture-raised: This is perhaps the best option. It means that animals including cattle, sheep, or pigs, are allowed to roam freely, breathe fresh air, and remain on the farm from birth to market. There is no confinement. This process of raising animals is also better for the environment, requiring fewer fossil fuel and enriching the soil with nutrients, which makes manure a valuable resource, not a waste. Animals on pasture are less likely to carry food-borne pathogens and are free of added hormones and antibiotics. Their meat ends up being higher in vitamin E, beta-carotene, omega-3 fatty acids, and CLA.

Image: Tiarascott

Related on EcoSalon:

The Green Plate: What Every Meat Eater Should Know About Humane Certifications

Five Reasons Why Privatizing Poultry Inspection is a Bad Idea

The post Eating Healthy: 7 Meat and Poultry Food Labels to Look for appeared first on EcoSalon.