Don't Be Suckered by Powdered Butter

What is butter powder? How do you use it? Do you want it?

Those are three questions I should have asked before purchasing a couple cases of it over a decade ago.  If I had learned what exactly this supposedly magical powder was and how it could be used (or couldn’t be used), I would have decided I didn’t want it.  And I have previously written here on the blog that butter powder was one of several food storage purchases that I regretted. 

Fortunately, I chose to hang onto it for bartering purposes.  Because as I was beginning research on this post, I had a little lightbulb moment.  I’ll share that further down in the article.  First, we’ll cover what exactly butter powder is and how vendors and most prepping bloggers recommend using it.

Dehydrated butter powder, as sold by preparedness vendors, is butter with the water (butter is 16% water) and a good chunk of the butter fat itself removed, but with a lot of nonfat milk solids added back in, in addition to some preservatives.  To reiterate, butter powder has a lot of the fat removed.  And what was added back in?  Powdered milk.  Most of what you are purchasing is actually dry milk powder, with a little butter. If you compare calories and serving sizes, you get a better picture.  Look at the cholesterol per serving.  Real butter has 31 mg cholesterol and 100 calories per tablespoon.  Butter powder has 10 mg cholesterol and 35 calories per tablespoon.

Reconstitution instructions vary slightly by manufacturer and depend on how it is being used in the recipe.  Basically, a very small amount of water is stirred in, about 1 ½ tablespoons per ½ cup of powder.  If the butter powder is being used in baking, this reconstitution is not advised.  Rather, the butter powder is added to the dry ingredients and the water is added to the wet ingredients. 

Now, I added butter powder to our food storage because I felt that life without butter would just not be worth living.  No chocolate chip cookies, no butter on the popcorn or toast, no buttercream frosting.  With a couple of cases of butter powder, I felt I was all set.

Then I found out that, when reconstituted as recommended by the manufacturers, it just doesn’t work for any of those things.  Mix that powder with water, and it doesn’t resemble anything close to butter in appearance or taste.  It’s not making good cookies, which is not a problem if you don’t make good cookies to begin with, but if you have a discriminating palate or a reputation to uphold, butter powder is an epic fail.  And forget about drizzling it on popcorn.  And all of these really were the whole point of buying this very expensive product!

As Charlie Brown would say, “AAUUGH!” or something like that.

And, as I discovered several years ago, there is a cheaper option that works much better in most applications and has a longer shelf life.  And that wonder food, my friends, is coconut oil.  Coconut oil works pretty darn well all by itself to spread on toast or popcorn (though I find it better to pop the popcorn in the coconut oil instead of drizzling it on top).  However, if you really want that buttery flavor—and I can’t blame you--mix butter powder into the coconut oil in about a 1:1 ratio and you’ll be golden.  Coconut oil also works much, much better in making chocolate chip cookies than the dehydrated butter powder ever could.  (However, neither option will work in shortbread cookies.  For those you absolutely have to use real butter.)

As I researched, I read of people using butter powder in mashed potatoes, where I’m guessing it would indeed taste acceptable.  Some commented that it was good sprinkled on baked potatoes and rice.  Others said it worked very well in mac ‘n cheese, which also makes sense.  Basically, it works best in recipes calling for both butter and milk.  And that idea got the wheels in my brain turning.

See, if you remember, Magic Mix is just dry milk, butter, and flour.  Specifically, 2 1/3 cups dry milk powder, 1 cup butter, and 1 cup flour.  The dry milk and butter ratio is about the same as for the very expensive dehydrated butter powder.  So I got to thinking it could be used just like Magic Mix, using 3 parts of the butter powder to 1 part flour.  I tried it out to make cream of tomato soup for last week.  It was pretty close to perfect, needing just a little more water.  Last weekend, my in-laws came for a visit, so I used the butter powder to make a banana cream pie to tempt my mother-in-laws very finicky palate.  It worked like a charm and that pie disappeared pretty quickly.

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I’m working with butter powder that is now 13 years old.  And I opened this particular can before we moved, so it’s been open for at least 18 months now, with no off taste at all.  However, keep in mind I live in a desert and humidity isn’t a problem for us. 

Because it’s pretty expensive and because Magic Mix works every bit as well, I don’t plan on buying butter powder again.  However, if I somehow came across a screaming deal on it so that it was cheaper than butter or coconut oil, now that I know I can use it like Magic Mix, I’d scoop it up.

Links to related posts: 

Food Storage Items I Wish I Hadn’t Bought (and What to Get Instead) 

Coconut Oil  

Banana Cream Pie with Magic Mix

Magic Mix  

Magic Mix and Coconut Oil 

Cream of Tomato Soup using Magic Mix  

 7 jan 2022