In this age of artisanal everything, it can be hard to know which fancy products, such as fancy butter, are actually worth your time (and cash). If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed in the dairy aisle, do not fret, for one man tasted twenty-three butters to find the best.
You should click the link below for Walter Green’s full review of all 23, but we’ll go ahead and hit the standouts:
- Kerry Pure Irish Butter (Salted): I’ve tangoed with this gold-wrapped delicacy before, and agree with Green’s assessment of it being a really good butter that “creeps up on you and builds like a rich, creamy crescendo as it melts in your mouth.”
- Somerdale English Country Butter (Salted): Though Green didn’t exactly love this one, he noted that it had a sharpness to it, making it “almost like cheese.” That may not float his boat, but cheese-butter sounds absolutely delightful to me.
- Beurre d’Échiré (Lightly-Salted): This “straight-up delicious butter” has a higher fat content than most American brands (84% versus 81%) and melts like a dream. Consider yourself lucky if you can get your hands on it, though. According to Green, “85 percent of all Échiré butter stays in France.” (If you’re looking for a good, fattier butter that’s a little more attainable, try the US-made Straus Family Creamery European-Style butter, which has a whopping 85% fat content and a “deep and salty” flavor with a “nutty aftertaste.”)
In terms of losers, butter that came in cans—and there were three!—ranked the lowest, especially Beurdell Finest Quality Butter, which was the least sweet of the bunch and came in a can that looked like “a cat food marketed exclusively to depressed or bored cats.” (That packaging appeals to me, to be quite honest.)
Fancy Butter Taste Test | Lucky Peach
Photo by Nick Saltmarsh.