It’s no secret that butter makes everything taste better.

Adding unrivaled flavor, depth and structure to a range of dishes, butter is wonderfully versatile as both a sauce itself and the foundation for one. Butter emulsifies soups and stews while adding a boost of umami. It is a bread basket essential and the best spread for toast, bagels, scones and muffins.

When creamed for a cake or cookie batter, butter increases the loft and intensifies the sweetness. What would mashed potatoes, grilled steak or steamed asparagus be without that crowning pat of melting butter?

Transforming liquid cream into solid butter is culinary magic. Centuries ago, Irish women prayed to the goddess Brigid, patron of farms and fields, as they churned their fresh milk to assure it would become rich, smooth and as tasty as soft cheese. Throughout history, butter has been a food for celebration and served as a medicine, a healing salve for wounds and burns as well as treatment for bronchial ailments.

Whether shaken in a jar, turned in an old-fashioned butter churn or rotated in an industrial metal tank, the process works the same way. As the cream membranes break open, the fats separate and clump together into a ball. The liquid left behind, called buttermilk, is a thin and watery “skim milk,” not the cultured buttermilk on supermarket shelves.

Butter was introduced to the Americas by pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower. It was a farmhouse kitchen staple until the Great Depression and World War II. The turmoil brought shortages and rationing, allowing margarine, made from vegetable and animal oils, to take its place. Then came the low-fat diets of the 1980s, when butter took a back seat to healthier alternatives. But in the early 2000s, researchers discovered that the nutrients in natural butter are far healthier than the trans fats in margarine. Plus, it tastes so much better. Butter is back.

Compound Butters

Makes 1/ 2 cup

Take a stick of unsalted butter and season with fresh herbs and lemon, or chili and lime, or berry jam, and you have the most versatile ingredients for sparking a range of dishes. Whether savory or sweet, these add richness and depth to the most ordinary foods. Make them ahead and store in the freezer. From Beth Dooley.

Lemon Thyme Butter

Ingredients

1/ 2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Generous pinch coarse salt

Directions

In a small bowl, beat together all of the ingredients. Shape into a roll and wrap in parchment, twisted at both ends. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or freeze.

Serve on baked sweet potatoes, poached chicken and baked fish, or toss with pasta or rice.

Chile Crisp Butter

Ingredients

1/ 2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/ 2 tsp. to 1 tsp. chile crisp, or your favorite hot sauce, to taste

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Directions

In a small bowl, beat together all of the ingredients. Shape into a roll and wrap in parchment, twisted at both ends. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or freeze.

Serve on roasted sweet potatoes, polenta, and cornbread.

Orange Marmalade Butter

Ingredients

1/ 2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 to 3 tbsp. orange marmalade

1 tbsp. blood orange juice, or lemon juice

Light pinch salt

Directions

In a small bowl, beat together all of the ingredients. Shape into a roll and wrap in parchment, twisted at both ends. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months or freeze.

Serve on pancakes, crêpes, muffins, toast, scones and oatmeal.

Whipped Olive Oil Butter

Ingredients

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch salt

Directions

In a small bowl, beat together all of the ingredients. Transfer into a crock or jar, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, or freeze.

This blend is light, fluffy, yet rich; spread it on baguettes, croissants and baked potatoes.

Distributed by Tribune News Service.