Carotine Butter.

I found a recipe on line at a great site called ChefSteps (http://www.chefsteps.com/). A yummy sounding butter that is , apparently, more carroty than carrot. It can be used melted to saute things like oysters or as a dip for prawns or can be used as a spread to add a carrot taste. Apparently this will work for any high pigment vegetable such as tomatoes. I'll see how this goes and will let you know. Thoughts of red chili butter already taking shape.

The site tells you the science behind the preparation but, essentially, you need equal measures of clarified butter and carrot juice. Clarified butter can be created by heating butter over a low heat and, once melted, removing the whey as it floats on the surface. Put the melted clarified butter and the carrot juice into a fast blender (I used the trusty Bammix) and blitz it until the emulsion breaks. Now pour into a pan deep enough to leave a good 4cm above the liquid. Bring to the boil and scoop off the froth that form. This is the cellulose and other non-fat soluble items in the carrot juice. Once the froth is cleared off, cool the butter over iced water and place in the fridge to set.

Once set, run a knife around the edge of the pan and lift out the butter disk. Discard the liquid left in the bottom of the pan. Dry off the butter and store (fridge - weeks. freezer - year).

This is my resulting pat of carotene butter. As you can see, I shaped it up and split it into 4  for storage. I'll try a few other butters in the near future and will post the results.

I mentioned the butter to a friend at my social club, another foodie, and he mused on what potted shrimps made with carotine butter would taste like..... Watch this space :)