Never underestimate the power of condiments. Take these for example - they do wonders to the most mundane of food. As it is, I just needed a way to celebrate the end of my semester VII finals and to gear up for the thesis seminar next week. And really, what better way to celebrate than indulging yourself in some buttery goodness?

Just make sure you wear an old t-shirt while making this, because some of the ingredients will be a little reluctant to mix with the butter, ergo resulting in some very messy mixing action.

You can put anything you want into the butter, the flavour combinations are pretty endless.

You’ll need some flavour providers, like below:

And lotsa lotsa looootsa butter. Leave it to sit for a while so it’ll be easier to incorporate the other ingredients.

I’m using unsalted butter here just so I can control the salt content.

CHERRY, HONEY & CINNAMON COMPOUND BUTTER:

[ 1/2 cup unsalted butter + 6-7 canned cherries + 1/2 tablespoon honey + 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + salt to taste ]

Mash the cherries roughly in a bowl. Add in the butter and incorporate into the cherries.

Add in the honey and cinnamon and mix.

Serve with some toast (French or plain), muffins or bagels.

ROASTED GARLIC & RED PEPPER FLAKES COMPOUND BUTTER:

[ 1/2 cup of unsalted butter + 3-4 cloves of garlic, roasted + 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes + salt to taste ]

Roast the garlic until soft. Mash in a bowl and add in the butter.

Sprinkle in the pepper flakes.

Don’t worry if the butter starts to melt when you add it to the garlic, just pop it back into the fridge and wait for it to harden.

Serve over steak, chicken or fish (or vegetables!). Or use it for an alternative when making garlic breads.

CORIANDER & LIME COMPOUND BUTTER:

[ 1/2 cup pf unsalted butter + a small handful of coriander leaves + juice of 1/2 a lime + salt to taste ]

Chop the cilantro into the butter and squeeze in the lime juice. Mix thoroughly.

Serve with grilled corn on the cob or over fish.

ROASTED CHEERY TOMATOES & CHILLI COMPOUND BUTTER:

[ 1/2 cup of butter + 5-6 cherry tomatoes + 2-3 bird’s eye or green chillies, deseeded and chopped + salt to taste ]

Roast the tomatoes until soft and mash in a bowl. Add in the butter and the chopped and deseeded (or not, up to you) chillies.

Serve over chicken or fish.

Enjoy!