We Love Popcorn With Butter

Popcorn is a healthy treat.

Yes, we know they mean healthy popcorn is without butter. 

We know popcorn has high levels of antioxidants and without butter it’s delicious.

Plain popcorn has already been hailed as a great diet food for its low calorie content, but now a group of scientists claim it may even top fruits and vegetables in antioxidant levels.

Antioxidants - known as polyphenols - have really big health benefits as they help fight harmful molecules that damage cells.

Popcorn was found to have a high level of concentrated antioxidants because it is made up of just four percent water while they are more diluted in fruits and vegetables because they are made up of up to 90 percent water.

Researchers discovered one serving of popcorn has up to 300mg of antioxidants - nearly double the 160mg for all fruits per serving.

They also found that the  hulls of the popcorn have the highest concentration of antioxidants and fiber.

All that news about healthy popcorn is great...but we like butter...on our popcorn.

Now, we realize that butter may have it's issues (most foods do) but can we talk about the lesser-known benefits about butter?

1. It’s Filled with Immune-Boosting Vitamins

Spreading butter on your morning toast may not only improve your body’s immunity, but also help reduce cancer cell growth and increase red blood cell production thanks to vitamins A and D. One tablespoon of butter contains 7 percent and 2 percent of your daily values (DV) of vitamins A and D, respectively. Plus, because both vitamins are fat soluble, butter is a prime vehicle for aiding absorption of nutrients in the body.

2. It Keeps Bones Strong

Thanks to vitamin K and vitamin D, butter may also help increase bone and muscle strength. Known as the [blood] clotting vitamin, vitamin K not only helps maintain bone density but has also been linked to a 30 percent decrease in hip fractures in women who consume at least 110 micrograms per day, according to a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Adding one tablespoon of butter to a baked potato accounts for 1 percent of your DV.

3. It Reduces Symptoms of Diabetes

Found almost solely in cheese and butter, sodium butyrate has been linked to an improved response to insulin for patients with diabetes and increased energy in mice, according to a study published by the American Diabetes Association. It may also help alleviate constipation and may even help protect against colon cancer. 

4. It Fights Cancer

Found in dairy products, including butter, conjugated linoleic acid has been tied to tumor reduction in colorectal cancer and may even help fight breast cancer, according to an experimental pathology study conducted at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

5. It’s Better Than Margarine

Contrary to popular belief, some margarines – particularly first-wave varieties – are actually worse for you than butter due to high levels of trans fats. What’s more, researchers have also found that the vegetable fats contained in margarine are more likely to result in death among patients with heart disease than the saturated fat in butter.

6. It May Prevent Tooth Decay

Certain fat-soluble vitamins – including calcium and vitamins A, D and K – which are found in higher amounts in butter from grass-fed cows than in olive oil or margarine, may help fight cavities and even reverse tooth decay, according to research.

So, extra butter please...

Homemade butter is delicious and easy to make, here's all you'll need:

1 pint heavy whipping cream
Large bowl of ice water
Salt to taste 
A stand mixer, hand mixer or blender, or even a jar (see below photo) with a tight fitting lid.

This process will only take you15 Minutes and you'll get about 8 oz of homemade butter.

Here's what you do:
Pour a pint of heavy cream or whipping cream into your mixer or into a jar with a tight fitting lid.

If using a mixer use the low speed at first then increase to medium speed. 

If you're using a jar, start shaking (you'll need some serious shaking motion if using the jar method.)

At first, the cream will turn into whipped cream with soft, then stiff peaks, don't stop there.

Keep going until the cream breaks.

If you’re shaking the cream by hand, you’ll hear a swishing sound and see the liquid, you'll 

begin to feel something more solid hit the sides of the jar. 

If you’re using a stand mixer, you’ll see the butter clinging to the beaters. This usually takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes -- by hand may take longer. In this process, you are separating the butter fat from the liquid.

Once the butter has become solid, pour off the buttermilk and save it for baking. 

Place the butter into a bowl where you can rinse the butter pouring ice water over it and pressing the remaining buttermilk out with a small spatula or a spoon. 

Pour off the water and do it again.

Keep rinsing and pressing the butter with the ice water until the water runs clear.

The, add some salt if you like and work that through the butter.

That's all there is to it.