Compound butter is the chef’s term for butter that has been flavored.  Many compound butters are savory (incorporating ingredients like chili powders, freshly ground whole spices, chopped herbs, flavored salts or fresh truffles) and used on meats, seafood, poultry and vegetables.  However, sweet compound butters can also be made and are delicious on pancakes, waffles, etc (they’re often made with honey, nuts, mint, berries (huckleberries!), or vanilla beans).

Marx Foods offers high quality black truffle butter, and it’s easy to make other flavors at home following these Compound Butter Recipes.  The basic technique is to soften unsalted butter, mash in your ingredients (cut into small pieces if necessary), and put the butter in the refrigerator to harden again.