5 butters – American, French and Irish – put to the taste test

Before we dig right into one of my favorite topics – butter – I want to say thanks to the readers who e-mailed for a free Green Chef trial. It’s so gratifying to learn a tiny little bit of information about the people who read your column and to know that people actually read it. Hats off to Green Chef, because I e-mailed them and told them I got a nice response and needed more free trials to give out, and within moments, a customer service representative had loaded me up, and I was able to send out more. I’ve asked the recipients to report back for a follow-up story later.

Let’s talk “butta,” my absolute favorite ingredient. It transforms bread into something ahh-worthy, tops a steak for extra richness and makes vegetables taste so delicious. Just like the meat counter, which we discussed a couple of months back, the butter area can be a little puzzling, too, particularly if you’re at a specialty food store.

I recently strolled into Whole Foods to pick up some butter options for a quick tasting and came home with salted butter in all brands so I could sample and be fair in the tasting. The brands I purchased were the store’s private label 365 Brand (organic), Hildebrand (made in Junction City), Kerry Gold (product of Ireland), Isigny Sainte-Mere (clearly a French brand) and Vital Farms (made in Austin). I opened all of the packaging and noticed that butter comes in quite an array of shades – some very pale yellow, almost white, and others golden yellow. Spreadability was another factor that varied widely, and with a little research, I learned that a softer milk fat aids in spreadability.

In case you’re wondering why I’m sampling two foods I’m allergic to, don’t worry: My EpiPen is near, and quite honestly, if wine tasters can taste, swirl and spit, I figured I could with bread and butter, too.

I broke off five similar-sized pieces of bread, smeared about a teaspoon of butter onto each and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Temperature affects flavor, especially in an ingredient that’s firm when refrigerated. I tasted and let them sit on my tongue for a few seconds to fully experience the flavor and the melt of each butter. Here are my findings.

▪ The 365 Brand was first and foremost sweet and had a nice melt on the tongue.

▪ Vital Farms was rich and creamy with a deeper butter flavor.

▪ Isigny Sainte-Mere had the fastest melt with a softer butter flavor.

▪ Hildebrand was slightly sweet with a lighter butter flavor.

▪ Kerry Gold had an almost instant melt on the tongue with a richer, bolder butter flavor.

This was the first time I’d tasted so many butters side by side. I wasn’t surprised by the different flavors. Just like with wine, the terroir affects the flavor. The Irish cows’ cream tastes different from the Kansas cows’ cream. I was surprised that the Isigny Sainte-Mere wasn’t my favorite – I tend to gravitate toward French food items. My favorite was the Kerry Gold. I do like big, bold flavors, though, so keep that in mind. My palate can take the punches of bolder better than some.

I do regret that I didn’t pick up Plugra butter for the tasting. It’s a European-style butter and has a higher fat content than regular butter. I used it to make a pie crust at some friends’ house in Southern California once, and it was the softest crust. I’m still a die-hard fan of my half butter, half lard pie crust recipe, but I couldn’t find lard in the store there. Healthy Californians must not do lard like we do in the Midwest.

Back to my allergic-to-dairy friends: When I found out I couldn’t have dairy, I about cried, because I couldn’t imagine a life without butter. My doctor quickly informed me I could probably tolerate ghee, which is clarified butter, and to try that. Growing up Lebanese, my mom and grandma had large glass jars with the golden deliciousness in it, so it wasn’t anything foreign to me.

You might wonder why anyone would choose ghee if they can have regular butter. For starters, ghee has a much higher smoke point than regular butter because the protein is removed and the butter fat is left behind. That’s a huge plus in addition to the fact that it’s shelf stable. I make 7 pounds of ghee at a time, so I’m stocked for a while. It takes me several hours to make that much, but it’s so worth it.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 3:37 PM with the headline "5 butters – American, French and Irish – put to the taste test."