Friday, August 14, 2009

Garlic Ginger Butter

GARLIC GINGER BUTTER
with Marjoram &
grape seed oil
This is a spread to die for, a spreadable butter that is healthful. This is a pasta dressing to live for. It makes half a Wolferman's sour dough English muffin a rich meal. This is also what to cook just about anything in, and it will be outstanding. It even tastes different on different foods it is cooked with. It raises the smoke point of butter because grape seed oil (which is tasteless and therefore the butter taste is fully present!) has a smoke point of 450° - so your butter does not burn in that usual nanosecond.
It is healthful because the butter is Vitamin A and choline as well as riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid;
the grape seed oil is both Omegas (3 and 6) and Vitamin E;
the marjoram is Vitamins A, C, K, B-6, folate, and calcium, iron, magnesium, copper and manganese;
ginger is fiber, Vitamins E, B-6, iron, magnesium, potassium, selenium and manganese. Benefits of ginger are legendary, including aiding digestion (anti-nausea for chemotherapy, etc.), aiding joint health and combating arthritis, being anti-inflammatory and anti-aging. Respiratory benefits of all sorts, including for asthma, sore throat and clearing of sinuses and lungs.
(These are only the headlines; there are other benefits to the ingredients – including feeling good after you eat them!)
Soften One Pound of Unsalted butter by leaving it out of the refrigerator. Put it in a bowl you can mix in. Salted butter is a poor substitute.
Select a head of jumbo garlic
Chop an equal-sized chunk of fresh ginger root (not an old fibrous one, a nice new one!) in the chopper and leave it there. (Slice the ginger into smaller pieces before you put it in the chopper, because ginger is tough.)
Chop a head (not a clove!) of jumbo garlic in your food chopper and leave it in there with its ginger buddy. These guys get along very well.
(The ginger went into the chopper first because, being tougher, it should be the one to get some additional chopping if that happens.)
Mix 1/3 cup of grape seed oil into the butter
Into the same bowl put the garlic and ginger duo from the chopper;
Add 1/3 cup to ½ cup dried marjoram, and mix well, whether you use a fork, a wire whip, or a mixer. You can substitute dry parsley (Make sure it is fresh and green, not old.) Or you can use both marjoram and parsley. The marjoram adds to the flavor, the parsley's taste gets lost in the spices, so the marjoram is a better choice for taste. Marjoram tastes minty; it is in “summer savory” spice mixes. It has magnesium in it.
NOW YOU MUST FREEZE OR REFRIGERATE! Put only a small amount of this recipe at a time at room temperature! The reason is: When you put any fresh ingredient into oil, anaerobic bacteria which is colorless, odorless and tasteless and very harmful can form. Be very careful any time you mix fresh ingredients into butter or oil to not leave it at room temperature for very long, and to not store it a long time in the refrigerator.

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