Darshana Thacker Wendel
Darshana Thacker Wendel is a whole-food, plant-based chef and former culinary projects manager for Forks Over Knives. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute, she is the author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! She created the recipes for Forks Over Knives Family and was a lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan. Her recipes have been published in The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook, Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, and LA Yoga magazine online. Visit DarshanasKitchen.com and follow her on Instagram for more.
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Comments (28)
I blended in a Vitamix for 45 seconds for a very creamy texture. I then spent about 20 minutes trying to get it through a strainer. There was no “liquid,” but i ended up with about 1 1/2 in the pot and threw away the rest. The texture of the final product reminded me of bear mush. Labor intensive and wasteful. I won’t be making it again. Two stars because flavor is good.
Can this be frozen?
Hi Susan,
Chef Darshana provided the following response: “I have not tried freezing it but I would say no when the corn used was frozen to begin with. You would not want to thaw frozen corn and then freeze it again. If you use fresh corn, once the butter is frozen, it will need to be thawed, warmed and blended again in a pan, because upon thawing the water will separate from the corn and just mixing together will make it clumpy.”
I hope this helps!
Thank you,
Courtney
Editor, Forks Over Knives
Can I use yellow turnips or yellow cauliflower as an alternative?
Can you freeze any excess?
I haven’t tried this but I will soon. Just wanted to say Darshana is my favorite recipe creator ever. Regardless of the originality or the idea, her recipes are always worth trying and usually very easy to follow, and delicious, too. Thanks Darshana!!
What does ‘strain the corn into a fine mesh sieve’ mean? Does that mean that you remove the water in the sink and then put the kernels in the saucepan? Are there other fake butters that are compatible with this diet regimen?
Louis, they mean ‘strain the corn [mixture] through a fine mesh sieve’. You retain the liquid and the sieve catches any bits that were not well-blended. Put the liquid in the saucepan and the bits in the trash.
I have been whole-food plant-based for c. 4 years to by no means an expert, but all the other fake butters I have heard about are store-bought and highly-processed.
brandnewvegan has a good corn butter recipe on his site as well that does not require straining and is slightly better-rated than this one.
Love to know if someone has put the butter in the freezer. If, yes how was it after it thawed out. Thank you
Love to know if anyone has put the butter in the freezer. If , yes how was it after it thawed out. Thank you
I have frozen this but the corn butter I made was a mix of this and Brand Vegan recipe. The texture Isn’t great when defrosted but it’s fine after reheating.
Don’t expect “butter” but a wonderful spread! I’m lazy and not so fussy about having a little fiber in my spread so I just pureed a can of corn with some of it’s liquid a, spoonful of soy yogurt, the nutritional yeast and a bit of miso. When it was smooth enough I added about 1/2 tsp or so of konjac powder and blended again, let is sit for a few to thicken, done!(https://www.foodingredientsonline.com/doc/konjac-flour-glucomannan-0001) .
Konjac is a very versatile, flavorless, healthy, low calorie starch that has amazing thickening properties in cold liquids, so no cooking required. Also great for salad dressing, sauces, and on and on! (If you add it to hot liquids be sure to dissolve in cold water first or it will instantly clump into a solid mass!)
Anyone ever add fruit to this recipe for a different flavor?
Can you freeze this recipe?
If you can’t find agar agar, I made a very similar recipe I found on line. It was “easy vegan polenta butter” using polenta rather than corn, so there was no waste and no need for thickeners. It was a vegan recipe, free from dairy, oil, nuts and gluten. I found it at
https://eatlivebnspired.com/easy-vegan-polenta-butter-oil-free-nut-free-dairy-free-gluten-free/
This is very similar to something I often make to dress up veg or baked potato. Only mine is much simpler. I drain a can of salt free or low sodium corn, add Benson’s Table Tasty to taste and a tsp of lemon juice then blend in high-speed blender. A lot easier and still good.
I made this and it tasted good, but doesn’t taste anything like butter. It tastes like corn. Now, corn is delicious, and I did eat all of it. But it was a lot of work, and I had to throw away the solids. I’d rather just eat corn.
Will tapioca powder work?
I can’t get agar powder locally. Is there a substitute?
You can check this website for substitutes and their possible outcomes. https://substitutecooking.com/agar-agar-substitutes/
Can this be frozen and then thawed for later use?
Can you freeze this?
I didn’t strain mine though. And I used psyllium hulls to thicken instead of agar.
6 cups seems like a lot of corn. I just used a 12 oz bag of frozen corn.
It’s plenty.
Can I use canned corn?
Yes, you can. Rinse and drain well before use.
Could corn starch be used as a thickener in place of the agar powder?
Yes, you can use corn starch, but you may find the texture too dense for butter.