Fairy Butter
Learn about this recipe from our Historic Foodways staff, then try it at home.
This fragrant dish is often used on pancakes and scones or as a dessert sauce on gingerbread.
Learn how we make this recipe in our kitchens based on the 18th-century description below, then use our 21st-century translation to try the recipe at home!
Watch How It's Made
18th Century
Take the yolks of two hard eggs in a mortar with a large spoonful of orange flower water, and two tea spoonfuls of fine sugar beat to a powder; beat all together till it is a fine paste then mix it up with about as much fresh butter out of the churn and force it through a fine strainer...
— The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy
21st Century
Ingredients
- ½ pound butter
- 2 hard-boiled egg yolks
- 1 tbsp orange flower water
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Put your eggs until hard; let cool and peel them. Remove yolks.
- Put the yolks in a large bowl with the sugar and the orange flower water.* Beat them all together with the back of a fork or spoon until they come to a fine paste.
- Add your butter and mix until smooth.
- Pass this mixture through a fine sieve or strainer onto a plate. Decorate with flowers, if you wish.
* Orange flower water can be purchased online or in Middle East grocers and shops.
Aside from being incorporated into recipes, okra stew is also a dish on its own, as it can be sliced, breaded and fried and served as an appetizer.
Explore Recipes & Crafts
