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Unsalted butter contains no salt. It’s also referred to as “sweet butter,” though it is not made with sweet cream (any butter made with sweet instead of sour cream is sweet butter). Since it has no salt, unsalted butter is more perishable than ordinary butter, which typically has a salt content of about 1.2 to 1.4 percent.

Whipped butter has had air beaten into it, thus increasing its volume and making for a more spreadable consistency. Clarified butter, also known as drawn butter, is butter minus its milk solids. To clarify butter, melt it slowly, thereby evaporating most of its water and separating the milk solids (they sink to the bottom) from the golden liquid on top. Skim off the foam and pour off the clear or clarified butter. Because the milk solids have been removed, clarified butter has a higher smoke point and won’t go rancid as quickly as regular butter. The down side is that it loses some of its flavor along with the milk solids.

Traditionally, buttermilk was the liquid left after the butter was churned. Today, buttermilk is made by adding bacteria to low-fat or non-fat milk.

Margarine is a manufactured product made with vegetable oils; it was developed in the late 1800s as a butter substitute. It contains trans fatty acids, which result when hydrogen is added to a fat so that it will be solid at room temperature. Recent studies have linked trans fatty acids to health problems, including heart disease.

BUTTER FACTS AND TIPS

• Two cups of cold heavy cream will produce about 6 ounces of butter.

• The color of butter is dependent upon the cow’s diet.

• If mishandled, even top-grade butter will oxidize. The butterfat reacts with the oxygen either in the air or in the water inside the butter itself to create butyric acid, which leads to rancidity. But if the butter contains salt, it will not be able to oxidize as readily.

• Check the expiration date on the package to make sure you’re buying fresh butter. The date is almost always 4 months from the date the butter was made.

• Butter contains stearic acid, a substance known to be heart-friendly.

• To cut butter without it sticking to the knife, chill the blade or wrap it in waxed paper.

Chicken in Garlic and Shallots

This dish is an interesting hybrid. At first glance it appears to be a braise, but because it’s cooked in fat, it’s technically a fry. But nothing about the fragrant and amazingly flavorful results suggest frying. The oil itself comes out as the best garlic-herb oil you’ve ever tasted—perfect for sautéing greens or making garlic bread. Then there are the garlic cloves and shallots: soft, sweet, spreadable—stir them into mashed potatoes and prepare to amaze your friends and frighten your enemies.

I have to say that this dish sums up everything I love about cooking—in fact it is my favorite dish of all time to cook because it is amazingly easy, requires only one pan, can be made with any chunks of chicken (though I prefer the thighs), and it makes the house smell the way I like to think the south of France smells.

Application: Slow-Frying

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown on both sides in wide frying pan or skillet over high heat. Remove from heat, add garlic, shallots, herbs, and remainder of the olive oil (there’s no reason to chop the herbs, just distribute them around and in between the chicken chunks). Cover and bake for 1½ hours.

Yield: 6 servings

Software:

1 whole chicken (broiler/fryer)

cut into 8 pieces or 10 chicken

thighs

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

10 peeled cloves of garlic

10 shallots, peeled and split in half

from stem to root

Several sprigs parsley, sage, and

thyme (sorry, rosemary would

put it over the edge)

Hardware:

Large ovenproof sauté pan with

tight fitting lid (Straight sides are

needed. If you don’t have such a

pan you may need to brown the

chicken in