I'd never really thought too much about the quality of butter. I always buy 'proper' butter, not stuff out of plastic tubs that claim that you wouldn't know the difference between goo and a pukka Cow product.
When I was small our butter came from New Zealand, it always had a Fernleaf on the pack, and was the standard of butter by which I have since always compared all other products. I haven't seen those packs for years.
These days I simply grab a few packs of Sainsbury's unsalted butter as I pass the aisle.
However, my oldest, Kimbo, is not so nonchalant. In true Kimbo fashion, he always looks for a better product; in fact he demands a better butter.
He was very keen that I try his latest discovery; Guernsey Butter, made from the milk of Guernsey Cows. Personally I'm no butter connoisseur, but I do like butter; and plenty of it. I never skimp, so I was very keen to broach this new pack.
The first thing I noticed was the colour, this is really yellow. I should say here that some of the best butter in France (from Isigny, in Normandy) is very pale; almost white.
Before tasting, I did as all gourmets do, and had a sniff; it had the vaguest whiff of vanilla. Otherwise it didn't really have any pronounced odour.
Taste-wise, it is very pleasant. It's not easy describing the taste of butter, but this is very buttery. A taste that had you been brought-up on a West County farm, you would probably recognise at once. I remember churning milk to make butter on my Uncle's farm in Wales when I was very young, I like to think that the butter I made tasted like this.
Verdict. Excellent. 10/10. Kimbo is off to Venice.
Sainsburys 'do' unsalted Isigny churned butter @ £14.40 /kilo.
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy. It's unnecessarily expensive in France, but still affordable.
DeleteI grew up on Fernleaf too, of course. That was real butter and it was usually a hard block, too hard to spread on toast so it came off in big chips. Bread butter and marmite, or marmalade!
ReplyDeleteNowadays I've read that the Irish Kerrygold is one of the best. The Guernsey butter looks rich and flavourful. It certainly has a bright colour. It's mostly Lurpack here which I like but any butter is better than marge
Using 'Marge' should be an offence. I don't remember the Fernleaf butter being hard, but I do remember my mother keeping all the wrapping papers to use as 'greaseproof paper'.
DeleteI remember the fern leaf on the packet too.
ReplyDeleteThese days I prefer unsalted butter and just buy packs from the local supermarket. There's usually a choice between own brand, something better like Asturias, Lurpack or French Presidente. A couple of supermarkets also sell Kerrygold. As I don't use a great deal of butter, I've never bothered to try a taste test - just happy that it's not marge!
I buy Sainsbury's unsalted simply because it's a few pence cheaper than the others, and is of the same quality.
DeleteI prefer salted butter . Much more taste. But it's very hard to find here .
ReplyDeleteYou can always add salt, but you can't take it away.
DeleteThe main problem with butter is that it gets hard - especially in wintertime and so when you come to spread it, you tend to put too much on your toast or sandwich bread or crumpets etc.. In warm summery periods the butter tends to soften up and is much easier to spread.
ReplyDeleteWe need electric (solar) butter dishes, to keep the butter at the perfect consistency. If you know any budding technology boffins, I think there's money to be made.
DeleteYou folks refrigerate your butter? We buy ours in the one pound package. There are 4 paper wrapped sticks. There is always butter in a covered dish on the table, right along with the salt and pepper and the sugar bowl.
DeleteYes Debby we do the same but in the winter I notice that the butter is hard - it might as well be in the fridge!
DeleteIf the butter is too hard then just 10s in the microwave on defrost and it's perfect. That's my microwave, appliances may vary.
DeleteI assumed everyone would know this but it appears there are folk hard of thinking here. Butter never needs to be refrigerated in Scotland. Maybe once a year it needs a wet rag draped over it. The evaporation from the rag chills it. Best use a clean rag and not one you've blown your nose on, mopped up diesel with or in YP's case taken down to the park.
I never buy the emulsified margarine type spreads. No taste and heaven only knows what they'd do to me If I ingested such stuff.
Real butter is best, we use mostly Irish butter, Kerrygold".
ReplyDeleteIreland is certainly known for it's wonderfully rich grass, so I suppose that must show in the butter.
DeleteCrumpets need good butter and enough so that every hole is filled. I buy Lurpak
ReplyDeleteQuite right, never hold back on the butter for crumpets.
DeleteNothing like a good piece of toasted bread spread liberally with good quality butter!
ReplyDeleteAnd great for cooking with too.
DeleteMy butter comes from Ireland in large block much like the one you show in the photo.
ReplyDeleteIrish butter MUST be good, all that emerald coloured grass must produce a wonderful product.
DeleteButter demands the best quality or else its just spreading grease. A life long butter fan, I have thoughts of making my own. After my last covid booster, my sense of taste is greatly reduced. I discovered that butterscotch flavoring has a buttery flavor. When I am desperate for a butter taste, it works.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad. You are one of the many to suffer an adverse reaction to the globo experiments.
DeleteMost jabbed got away with it scott free. It was never safe but you made your choice based on some politicians word. That is sad as a politician will say anything for twenty dollars and a doctor or nurse will shoot crap in you for £20.00p.
Mel Godroic frotting a milk churn on Eurovision must have sent sales of real butter soaring
ReplyDeleteGoodness me; it sounds like I've missed something!!!
DeleteI love butter too. We use LOL unsalted... but have tried Kerrygold and it is good... but twice as expensive. Nothing like a piece of toasted fresh baked bread with lots of real butter! I will look for the Guernsey Butter, but don't believe I've ever seen it here.
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen it before, but that's probably because I do my shopping blindfolded.
DeleteHere in Australia if we don't keep our butter in the fridge from September to March is melts into a puddle you can dip your fresh bread into, not at all nice in my opinion. I was raised on unsalted butter, but when frst married $$ were few so margarine became the norm, I tried several before finding one that most closely resembled butter and stuck with that until the kids were grown and gone. Now I am back to unsalted butter and three of the kids also buy butter intead of marge. The fourth (eldest) tears her home made bread into chunks and dips in olive oil.
ReplyDelete