This Turmeric Butter is so delicious and handy it’s become a permanent mainstay in our fridge. If you’re avoiding dairy products for either animal-loving, planet-saving or health-intolerance reasons, you may well feel like there’s a gap in your foodie repertoire.
Let’s be honest – there really is nothing quite like a generous slick of creamy salty butter on a piece of toast, freshly baked scone or grilled cob of corn. Before I discovered today’s bright yellow Turmeric concoction, I would either use cold-pressed coconut oil or some sort of nut butter as a butter replacement for toast. Then one day the foodie stars aligned, and low and behold a delicious jar of this Turmeric Butter made its way into my kitchen. It has all the elements of regular dairy butter you’ve no doubt come to love – creamy, salty, spreadable, and well… yellow.
Why is Turmeric so good for you?
The brilliant yellow of this buttery spread is thanks to both the extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil as well as one of my favourite therapeutic spices, turmeric. This warming and slightly bitter traditional Indian spice has long been known for its healing properties. It is the sixth highest food source of antioxidants known to man, with 159,277 µmol TE per 100g (to put that into perspective, it’s 24 times the amount found in blueberries, at 6,552µmol TE/100g).
Turmeric is also known for its strong anti-inflammatory effects, and has been shown to lower cholesterol, inhibit the replication of viruses, and protect the liver against excess toxins.
Disclaimer: one thing I will say about turmeric is, don’t try cooking with it in white clothing – it has the tendency to stain everything in its vibrant yellowy path!
Only 5 ingredients needed
What’s also great about this Turmeric Butter recipe is that it contains only four ingredients, and you can whip up a batch in a few minutes, without any fancy equipment or endless washing up. Given there’s only a few ingredients involved, it’s important to make sure you choose really good quality ingredients to maximise the micronutrient benefits of the spread.
That means a good quality extra virgin cold-pressed coconut oil and olive oil, as well as an organic sea salt (my favourite is this pink Himalayan sea salt). Regular oils at the supermarket have often been heat-treated and light exposed, destroying many of their fabulous benefits. Table salt meanwhile has also had its precious healthful minerals stripped out, many of which are highly beneficial in a balanced diet.
Once you’ve made this fab butter it will keep in the fridge for many weeks – store it in a sealed jar to keep it at its best. I’ve tried making this Turmeric Butter with a few different plant oils, such as flaxseed, chia seed and sacha inchi oil (you can see my flaxseed version in the photos as the darker jar). However my favourite from a taste perspective is definitely the classic blend using a richly flavoured organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful week – hopefully it involves lots of relaxing, reading, walks in the fresh air, and of course Turmeric Butter toast smearing!
Ingredients
- ⅓ c extra virgin cold-pressed coconut oil softened (not melted)
- ¼ c extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp sea salt or less to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl or cup and whisk vigorously with a fork until they are completely combined with no lumps.
- Pour into a sealed glass jar and place in the fridge to set. Give the jar a good shake after 30 minutes or so, as this will prevent separation. The mixture should then harden to a beautifully spreadable semi-soft butter. Store in the fridge for up to two months.
Recipe Notes
- If your turmeric and salt settles to the bottom (may happen if your coconut oil is too soft or melted), simply bring your butter out of the fridge and heat it gently until softened, then whisk up with a knife until remixed and place back in the fridge. Again, shake it after half an hour just to ensure that everything mixes up nicely.
- My blend is quite salty as I love the extra flavour it gives on its own to plain bread, toast or corn, but if you prefer your ‘butter’ less salty feel free to halve my salt measurement.
