Vegan Butter

Here are a few answers to what I think will be FABQs (frequently asked butter questions). When looking for a plant based milk for the recipe, I'd suggest looking for something with a high fat content, such as Oatly barista or any other barista-tailored milk. That's because a higher fat content not only creates a richer flavour, but also makes it infinitely easier for the oils and liquid to emulsify, blend and set happily ever after. It's also extremely important that everything be at room temperature before starting to mix the ingredients. If, let's say, the milk is too cold it will cause the coconut oil to start to harden and solidify before the ingredients have had a chance to mingle. So! Room temperature ingredients it is - not too cold, not too hot.

That brings us to the last point, which is the xanthan gum. "Must I use it?" is what you're probably wondering. In theory, the block of butter will still come together without it. But in practice, it won't be as creamy without it, and will be prone to splitting slightly once in the fridge. What xanthan gum does is help bind the fat and water molecules together and stop them from separating. I found it achieved the same goal as soy lecithin (which is the product which is typically used in butter spreads, chocolate, ice cream etc etc etc), but noticed xanthan gum was infinitely easier to find in shops and online in small amounts, so it got my vote. If you happen to find soy lecithin instead, you can grab that and use it in the the same quantities. If you want to make butter like, now, and don't have time to buy either of those ingredients, you can go ahead without it - keeping in mind it might lack a little creaminess in the case that the ingredients split slightly.