Butters of the World

The Ultimate Butter Page
aka, Butters of the World
October, 2007 - Joanne (a work in progress)

We love butter! We've even held a blind butter tasting - where we found that, like cheese and wine, butter is personal choice. During our travels, we seek out and purchase butters we haven't had before. Butters, below, were purchased in the US (unless noted otherwise).
USAClover Salted
Clover Stornetta Organic Salted & Unsalted Butter and Non-Organic Salted & Unsalted
A house favorite for cooking - it's one of our local butter choices.

Organic Pastures
Organic Pastures Raw Butter
This butter made from unpasteurized cold cream has definite cheese-like undertones which we found is either love or hate.

Smith Creamery Roll Butter
Smith Creamery is in Louisiana. This big "roll" of butter was good but we were not swooning. The salt is well integrated. and it has real "buttery" flavor but the finish was a bit sour/strange.

Straus European Style
Straus Family Creamery European Style Organic - Unsalted or Salted
We love Straus Family but we've never been fans of their butter. 85% Butterfat

Vermont
Vermont Butter & Cheese Co Cultured Butter
VB&C culture their fresh Vermont cream churning it into a European-style cultured butter. It is higher in butterfat (86%) than standard U.S. butter. It comes in lightly salted and with sea salt crystals. They sell it in rolls and in a basket form.

Beurremont
Beurremont -Traditonal Butter from New England
Is a sweet cream American-style butter.  The cream is not aged and does not have cultures added to it.

Sierra Nevada
Sierra Nevada Organic Vat Cultured
Made by the Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, it was new in 2007 and made from organic cream.

Spring Hill Cheese Cultured Butter
Made from 100% pure cream, which has been separated from their Jersey milk. We've never been huge fans but some rave about it. It's available to us locally.

USA Butter Glossary:
Cultured butter: Has a "culture" (like yogurt) added to the cream to enhance the flavor. The cream and the culture are kept warm and left for a period of time for the culture to develop. Makes for a more distinctive deeper flavored butter.

Butterfat: Higher butterfat means less moisture (water) in the butter, making it richer and denser. It is also better for pastry (makes lighter and flakier pastry and holds together better for rolling). Higher butterfat is also better for cooking, as the burn point is higher. Higher butterfat also means lower ph.

Resources:
How to make Butter - a great little article from Grasslands Cheese Consortium


United Kingdom
Double Devon Double Devon Cream Butter
From the makers of the Devonshire cream in the little bottles. It's traditionally churned using milk from Devon cows which graze on grass. It is lightly salted.

Somerdale English Butter
Somerdale English Butter
From the same maker as Double Devon Cream Butter. Comes in salted and unsalted. It's a European-style butter.

Quicke's Farmhouse
Quicke's Traditional Devonshore Farmhouse Butter - Slightly Salted
A roll of yellow creamy butter from Newton St. Cyres in Devon. (back label)


Denmark
Lurpak Unsalted
Lurpak Unsalted and Salted
The Danish cream is soured by use of a starter, (a bacterial culture made from various strains of lactic acid bacteria). The souring of the cream gives Lurpak a fresh lactic flavor which Joanne really likes. It's her butter of choice - even blind.


Spain
Cadi Butter from Spain
Cadi Sweet Butter
From Catalonia.


Iceland
Icelandic Butter
Icelandic Butter
Really creamy but better in the winter/spring. The summer butter has a more intense "cheesey flavor" which is difficult on toast. The winter butter is lightly creamy and is exquisite with raspberry jam.


Ireland
Kerry Gold
Kerry Gold Salted & Unsalted

Farmhouse Irish Butter
Farmhouse Irish Country Butter


France
Isigny Ste Mere
Beurre D'Isigny Beurre de baratte - Isigny Ste. Mere Demi-Sel
This one from Isigny Ste. Mere has large rock salt crystals in it which gives it a crunch. Isigny Ste. Mere also make Doux, Beurre de baratte AOC, Beurre de baratte Label Rouge, Beurre cru (not available in the US), Beurre AOC source naturelle d'Oméga 3 (never seen this one)

La Barratte des Gourmets
La Baratte des Gourmets - Demi-sel croquant de I'lle de Ré
Jack's latest salted butter favorite. He can't get enough of this one and we try and keep it in stock. It has large salt crystals embedded in it. If you don't like salt this one is not for you.

Pamplie
Pamplie - Beurre de Baratte Extra fin - fleur de sel de I'ile de Re - Charentes Poitou
It has salt crystals in it. The co-op which produces the milk for Pamplie collects 60.000 liters of milk per day. The dairy of Pamplie is located in Poitou-Charentes, in Gatîne, in middle of the county of Deux Sèvres.

Echire Butter in a Basket
Beurre Echire - AOC Beurre des Deuz-Sevres
Échiré butter is made from milk collected within a specific area, officially designated by the Société de Laiterie Coopérative d'Échiré. Comes in different packaging (ie. basket, block) and unsalted or slightly salted. (Blue label is unsalted)

Grand Fermage Butter from France Charentes Poitou Doux
Grand Fermage A.O.C. Butter from Charentes Poitou - Doux
Eurial Poitouraine uses milk from the producers belonging to three co-operatives, Colarena Presqu'île, Poitouraine and UCAL. It appears their products are distributed by Soignon. They also make Noirmoutier sea salt Butter as well as a Biologique version of Grand Fermage (but I've not seen either in the US).

Celles sur Belle Beurre Grand Cru AOC Charentes-Poitou
Celles sur Belle Beurre Grand Cru AOC Charentes-Poitou

French Butter Glossary:
Baratte: Churned
Demi Sel: Semi-Salted
Croquant: Crisp or Crunchy
Doux: Sweet (usually denotes unsalted)
Cru: Raw
Biologique: Organic
A.O.C: Appellation d'origine contrôlée


Italy
Delitita
Delitia Parmigiano Reggiano Butter
Butter made from the cream left over from Parmigiano Reggiano production. Really balanced and really great. Make sure your source is fresh as it's a delicate butter.

Defendi Italian Butter Defendi Burro Tradizionale
Defendi Burro Tradizionale
A butter we like but do not love - we like the Delitia butter better.

Appenino
Appennino Organic Butter - Parmigiano Reggiano
Here's another Parmigiano Reggiano Butter we liked - but have yet to find again. It isn't quite as balanced as Delitita but very good and organic!


Castelli Butter of Parma


New Zealand
Anchor - NZ Butter
Anchor - Pure New Zealand Butter
Is a relatively new import to the US. We weren't big fans, finding it not very balanced.

Atalanta Butter
Atalanta - Unsalted
From what I can find on it, it is now a product of New Zealand rather than Australia. We liked it and found it creamy with an almost floral element to it.
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