Butter photo courtesy of Vermont Dairy.
May 2005
Updated March 2009
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Butter Glossary
Terms & Definitions: H To L
Butter terms beginning with H to L, including herb butter, lemon butter and light butter. If you’d like to suggest other terms, use the Contact Us link on this page. This is Page 4 of a seven-page glossary. Click on the black links below to visit other pages. Enjoy a wealth of food knowledge in our 60 different food glossaries.
HALF AND HALF
A mixture of equal parts milk and cream; it must be at least 10.5% butterfat and up to 12% butterfat. It cannot be whipped.
HERB BUTTER
Butter that is blended with herbs. It is popularly used to baste foods, to make croutons and to season poultry, either by slipping it between the skin and the flesh or by adding it to stuffing. A pat of herb butter is sometimes added to a broiled tenderloin or steak.
HEAVY CREAM or HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM
A rich dairy product with a butterfat content of at least 36% and up to 40%. Whipping cream will double in volume when whipped.
LACTIC BUTTER or RIPENED BUTTER
More common in European countries, the cream is inoculated with a starter culture (a lactic acid-producing bacteria) after pasteurization that ferments prior to the churning. The culture ripens the butter to a specific maturity; it is then pasteurized again to stop the ripening process. Lactic butter has a lower moisture content and a higher smoking point than regular butter, and is preferred for baking.
LEMON BUTTER or MEUNIÈRE BUTTER
Clarified butter browned slowly and seasoned with lemon juice and parsley. Often used with fish, as an accent or a base for sautéing.
LIGHT BUTTER or REDUCED CALORIE BUTTER
Light butter has about half the fat of regular butter. It is made with the addition of water, skim milk and gelatin. It should not be substituted for regular butter or margarine in frying and baking.
LIGHT CREAM
Sometimes called coffee cream or table cream, can contain from 18% to 30% butterfat but most commonly contains 20% butterfat. It cannot be whipped.
LIGHT WHIPPING CREAM
The form most commonly available, cream with between 30% and 36% butterfat.
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Some content courtesy of Cornell University School of Agriculture, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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