Three things you may not know about butter

• It takes 21 pounds of cow's milk to make 1 pound of butter.
• Both butter's colour and flavour are affected by the diet of the cows producing it.
• Québec produces more than 40% of Canadian butter; Ontario follows with just over 30% of production.

Two new ways to try butter right now

• Add crushed hazelnuts to softened butter and use as a spread in a simple ploughman's lunch.
• Make a beurre noisette for steamed fish by melting 2 tbsp butter over medium heat until medium-brown. Mix 1 tbsp lemon juice with 1 tbsp water and stir into hot butter. Stir in 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley and pour over fish.

One tip you can't live without

• Butter burns at a lower temperature than many oils. Add a tsp of oil to the butter in your frying pan to keep it from burning so quickly.

One thing to remember at the grocery store

• Regan Daley, author of In The Sweet Kitchen, recommends feeling bars of butter and buying the firmest one, as softer butter means higher water content, and more moisture means tougher pastries.

One indispensible tool for butter

• Calphalon's butter warming pan is a 2-cup pot with a pouring lip on either side – a perfect way to melt butter for everything from lobster to popcorn.

One collectible way to make your mark with butter

• Look for pretty patterned butter moulds or stamps, traditionally used to trademark a farm's produce at market.