Whipped Water Butter
Beat cold water into softened butter and get twice the spread out of the same block.
- calories
- 100
- weight
- 0.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 200
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 15 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Cooler only
- No cook
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Butter | 1/2 cup | softened, not melted |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 1/2 cup | lukewarm, not hot |
| Salt | a pinch | optional, if using unsalted butter |
Method
- Let the butter sit out of the cooler until it dents under a thumb. Cold butter will not take water.
- Work it in a bowl with a fork or whisk until it is smooth and pale.
- Add the water a spoonful at a time, beating between each addition. Go slow or it will break and pool.
- Keep going until all the water is in and the mix looks like frosting.
- Press it into a lidded container and put it back in the cooler. It firms up to about the same texture it started with.
This is a wartime rationing trick, and it works because butter is an emulsion already. Around 16 percent of a block is water held in suspension by milk solids. You can push that fraction higher and the mix will hold, as long as the water goes in slowly and the butter is soft enough to accept it. Add it fast, or add it hot, and the emulsion breaks into a greasy puddle.
The use case on a trip is stretching one block across a long weekend of toast, pancakes, and corn. It is not a backpacking item: the water you added has to stay cold or the whole thing separates, and it halves the calories per spoon, which is the opposite of what you want in a pack. It also behaves badly in baking, so keep a plain stick aside for the dutch oven.
Packing
This is a camp-kitchen job, not a trail one. Bring the block whole in the cooler and whip it on site, since the finished spread has to stay cold and does not travel in a pack.
Variations
- A pinch of garlic powder and dried parsley turns it into a spread for grilled bread.
- Beat in a spoonful of oil instead of some of the water for something that stays soft straight out of the cooler.
https://www.gettystewart.com/extending-butter-a-war-time-rationing-trick