Compounding Interest

I wanted to make compound butter. You know, that restaurant move where they top your steak with herb butter—let’s be real, the steak makes a perfect conduit for butter. But here’s the thing—I try to eat cultured butter.

Not because I’m fancy (okay, maybe a little). But because cultured butter is fermented, which means it’s good for your gut. At Remix, we mind the GAP—Good for the Gut, Anti-inflammatory, and Polyphenol-rich. Every chance we get to eat something that checks those boxes, we should. Fermented foods like cultured butter? That’s an easy win for the “G.”

So I had a challenge. I wanted to make compound butter, but it needed to be cultured like the French butter I typically buy. How do you culture cream at home without turning your kitchen into a fermentation lab?

Then it hit me: crème fraîche IS cultured cream. Why not just make butter from crème fraîche?

When Everything Needs to Do Double Duty

I live in a house that’s the right size. Everything in my space does double or triple duty. I like it that way. So for me to spend time and money making butter, it needs to serve more than one purpose.

Here’s what I bought:

• 7.5 oz crème fraîche (Bellwether Farms from Sonoma County)
• 16 oz quality heavy cream
• 32 oz whole milk

And here’s what I got:

• 8 oz cultured butter (from 7.5 oz crème fraîche + 8 oz heavy cream)
• 8 oz fresh buttermilk (the byproduct of making butter)
• 16 oz half & half (remaining 8 oz heavy cream + 8 oz whole milk)
• 24 oz whole milk (ready for next week’s butter and a future👇Creami batch)

The buttermilk alone was a gift with purchase—usually around $3 at the store, and perfect for ice cream, banana bread, pancakes, or whatever your heart desires. So I didn’t spend more money than I normally would. I just spent it differently. And got way more out of it.

Not more money. Not more time. A lot more healthy flavor and a lot more options.

The Process: Easier Than Reading Labels

Making cultured butter took less time than standing in the grocery store dairy aisle reading ingredient labels on butter.

I used super cold crème fraîche and heavy cream—straight from the fridge. Put them in my KitchenAid stand mixer with the whisk attachment. In about one minute, I had beautiful whipped cream. Five more minutes, and I had butter.

Pro tip: drape a tea towel over the mixer bowl toward the end because the buttermilk splashes everywhere when the butter solids separate from the liquid. It’s messy. But worth it. Oh, and make sure to rinse the butter to remove any buttermilk before you store it.

The taste? Incredible. This fresh cultured butter needs no salt. The cultured tang brings this depth of flavor that store-bought butter—even the good stuff—just doesn’t have. It’s alive in a way that makes you understand why people used to make their own butter.

I put it on toasted ciabatta and just stood there in my kitchen, amazed. This is what butter is supposed to taste like.

What I Did With the Ecosystem

I keep my cultured butter out at room temperature in a ceramic container with a sealed tight lid. Butter should always be ready to spread, the European way.

The half & half went into the fridge for coffee throughout the week.

Hmmm. The buttermilk? (steepling fingers together) I turned it into Creami ice cream for the freezer. Here’s what I made:

👉 Brown Sugar Salted Caramel Buttermilk Ice Cream

• 6 oz buttermilk
• 6 oz coconut milk
• 4 oz whole milk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• Optional: Salted caramel chips (added after first spin using the Mix-In setting)

The brown sugar’s caramel notes complement the salted caramel chips perfectly, and the salt balances the buttermilk’s tang. It’s tangy, creamy, sweet, salty perfection—and fermented.

Next week I’ll make my banana bread recipe now using my homemade butter and buttermilk. There’s something deeply satisfying about baking with ingredients you made yourself.

Leveling Up: Compound Butter

Okay, circling back. This was always about compound butter. But first, you needed to understand why the base matters.

Compound butter is just what it sounds like—a mixture of butter plus other ingredients. Fresh herbs, citrus zest, spices, garlic. You’re taking something already great and giving it a purpose.

I’m planning three variations:

• Garlic + Rosemary for Italian dishes (think cast iron skillet + chicken)
• Lemon Thyme for vegetables and fish (elevated sides)
• Za’atar for Mediterranean cooking (second to naan)

The Simple Formula

Start with 4 oz of your cultured butter (half of your batch). Let it come to room temperature so it’s soft and easy to mix.

General ratios:

• Fresh herbs (minced): 1-2 tablespoons
• Garlic (minced or grated): 1-2 cloves
• Citrus zest: 1-2 teaspoons
• Dried spices: 1-2 teaspoons
• Salt: only if needed (your butter might not need it)

Mix everything together with a fork until well combined. Spoon the compound butter onto parchment paper, roll it into a log, twist the ends, and refrigerate. Store in a silicone-lidded container—I use the same 5 oz containers I use for overnight oats.

When you need it during the week, just slice off what you need. It keeps for about a week in the fridge.

The other half of your cultured butter? Keep it plain in your butter keeper at room temperature. You’ll want it for toast.

The Compounding Returns

Here’s what one simple technique gets you:

• Cultured butter that tastes better than anything you can buy
• Fresh buttermilk for baking, ice cream, or pancakes
• Half & half for your coffee
• The foundation for compound butters that elevate weeknight cooking
• All for roughly the same money you’d spend anyway
• In less than 10 minutes of active work

That’s compounding interest. One smart move that keeps paying dividends throughout your week.

The KitchenAid whisk becomes a butter churn. The crème fraîche does double duty. The buttermilk becomes dessert. And that plain cultured butter? It becomes garlic rosemary butter that transforms your Tuesday night chicken into something special.

Everything in my kitchen does double or triple duty. This technique fits perfectly. That’s the Remix approach—taking something classic and spinning it, or in this case whisking, for a whole, better you.

Your Turn

What compound interests you? Share your creative mash-up on IG @remixology