How brown butter is taking over food menus and shining in the spotlight

Brown butter is hardly new French kitchens have been cooking butter until its milk solids turn golden and aromatic for generations What has changed is how visible the technique has become with brown butter now being called out on menus and being treated as a flavour in its own rightAt Blanchette founder Bianca Manik sees the distinction between regular and browned butter as one of both texture and flavour ldquoWhen we use regular butter itrsquos largely about adding fat water and milk solids to a dough and giving the product structure Browning butter on the other hand is about toasting those milk solids to create a nutty almost hazelnutlike aroma and notes of caramelisationrdquoBrown Butter latteFor Manik that toasted quality can do the work that other flavouring ingredients might otherwise have to perform ldquoAt Blanchette we work with a lot of flavours that need this toastiness and warmth underneath rather than something neutral Itrsquos essentially doing the job of a toasted spice or a toasted nutrdquoMee Mee Toasties and Blanchette brown butter cookiesHer Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie puts the ingredient front and centre while browned butter also finds its way into the bakeryrsquos crumbles toppings and ice creams ldquoThe base flavour comes from the fat itself rather than adding additional mixins to compensate for a plainer doughrdquo she saysMee Meersquos Brown Butter Almond Ice Cream and Blanchette brown butter cakePooja Dhingra sees the appeal as a meeting point between familiarity and complexity ldquoBrown butter sits at the intersection of two things people want right now nostalgia and depth Itrsquos still butter so it feels familiar and comforting but toasting the milk solids gives it a complexity that regular butter doesnrsquot haverdquoSlow Cafe Toffee Coffee PuddingThat transformation is what makes it so useful ldquoRegular butter mostly contributes fat a little salt and a clean dairy flavour that lets other ingredients lead Browning it changes the chemistry You get a layered flavour nutty caramelised faintly toasty with a slight bitterness at the edges that keeps it from tasting too sweetrdquoLovefools Miso ButterThe result can strengthen a dish without necessarily announcing itself ldquoIn a cookie or a cake it adds a kind of backbone that makes vanilla and chocolate taste richer without you necessarily identifying butter as the sourcerdquo says Dhingra ldquoIn a savoury dish that same nuttiness plays beautifully against something acidic like lemon or sage or something starchy like pasta or squash It behaves less like a single ingredient and more like a flavour enhancerrdquoPomodoro Miso chili butter Chittara and Pomodoro corn panzanellaAt Meemeersquos founder Meha Agarwal approaches brown butter from a slightly different ldquoWersquore always looking for ways to make familiar flavours feel a little more interesting without overcomplicating them Brown butter does exactly that Itrsquos indulgent and comforting but also has enough complexity to make you stop and wonder what yoursquore tastingrdquo Its most prominent expression at Meemeersquos is the Brown Butter Almond ice cream paired with almond brittle The flavour has been part of the brand since its first menu and now appears across its Toasties Roleys signature ice cream cake and tubsBianca Manik and Pooja DhingraAgarwal believes this reflects a wider shift in how chefs approach ingredients ldquoBrown butter used to be thought of largely as a technique or finishing element whereas today it has become the flavour itselfrdquoAt SLOW cafe cofounder Palak Khimavat prefers to let brown butter play a quieter role ldquoWersquore drawn to ingredients that can make something familiar feel a little more elevated and brown butter does exactly that It can take something as simple as a cookie a cake or a sauce and give it another layer of flavour and complexityrdquo The cafeacute uses it across its bakes and desserts including a sticky toffee pudding with hazelnut Chantilly and espresso caramel ldquoWe like using it as a supporting ingredient rather than making it the headline Itrsquos that little extra layer of flavour that makes you pause and wonder why something tastes so goodrdquoPalak Khimavat and Meha AgarwalPerhaps the clearest sign that brown butter has moved beyond the pastry kitchen is its appearance in coffee At Not Far cofounder Farheen Khan uses it as the base of every cookie but has also folded it into the drinks menu Its Brown Butter Oat Milk Latte is the cafeacutersquos highestselling coffee while the Biscoff Brown Butter Cold Coffee is another bestseller ldquoThe nuttiness of the brown butter works well with the creaminess of oat milkrdquo says Khan Her Cofounder Natasha Nazir who is a baker too finds it interesting that chefs are using it as a hero ingredient and flavour base rather than just a finishing touchrdquoSarita Pereira and Afsha RajkotwalaAnd perhaps that is the real evolution Brown butter has not suddenly been invented it has simply stepped out from behind the kitchen door and taken a firm a place on the menu Well the butter was always doing more than people realised We have just started paying attentionButter goes JapaneseIf brown butter is about toasted richness miso butter brings a distinctly more savoury edge to the flavouredbutter movement Made by blending butter with miso the Japanese fermented paste it has begun appearing on restaurant menus and increasingly in home kitchens The appeal lies partly in its ability to transform an otherwise familiar ingredient into something deeper and more complexldquoMiso pairs well with a variety of dishes and chefs are using it to add layers to simple preparationsrdquo says Afsha Rajkotwala founder of Pomodoro which has introduced miso butter on its menu ldquoIt brings a deep savoury umami flavour Beyond Japanese cooking it works beautifully with corn potatoes prawns steak pasta sauces and even dessertsrdquoAs it becomes more familiar to Indian consumers it is increasingly being treated as a pantry ingredient rather than a cuisinespecific one It can bring savouriness to a dish without relying heavily on salt recreate the flavours of restaurant dishes at home and tap into the growing interest in fermentationAt Lovefools founder Sarita Pereira sees the combination as an especially natural marriage ldquoWho doesnrsquot love butter when yoursquore not thinking about the calories Itrsquos pure indulgence but miso brings umami to it That also makes it incredibly versatile It doesnrsquot necessarily make a dish taste JapaneserdquoFor Pereira the attraction is in the contrast between the two ingredients ldquoldquoEveryone loves miso Why wouldnrsquot you when itrsquos such a huge flavour bomb Butter gives you richness and roundness while miso brings saltiness a slight fermented nuttiness and an almost unexplainable savoury tasterdquoThat has made it a playground for experimentation at Lovefools where the butter is being tested well beyond its obvious applications ldquoYou can use it instead of plain butter on toast or pancakes or even try it with idli Toss your noodles in it add it to boiled corn or vegetables roasted potatoes or grilled meats and you donrsquot need another saucerdquoPereira believes the growing interest in flavoured butters in retail shelves is also tied to the way diners now discover food ldquoPeople explore a flavour in restaurants and then want an easy way to bring that experience into their own kitchensrdquo The next step may be seeing more of these restaurantborn flavours packaged for the home cooking For now miso itself appears to be leading that charge