The Butter Thread

What’s your favorite salted butter that’s available at most grocery stores/Whole Foods? I’ve tried Plugra, Kerrygold, Tillamook, Trader Joe’s, and a bunch of others and they’re just not salty or rich enough for me. My perfect salt level for butter is Rodolphe Le Meunier Beurre De Baratte, which is my favorite, but it’s a little too pricey for me to use as an everyday butter.

Thanks!

Why buy salted butter instead of just sprinkling salt on unsalted the way the French do?

I’ve tried that and prefer butter that’s already salted.

We both love it that way and, after breakfasts in Greece, we sometimes add a little (Greek) honey.

The French use salted butter all the time.

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Try President.

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As a avid baker, there are generally two reasons people sometimes prefer salted over unsalted butter.

  1. Stays fresh longer. As salt is a natural preservative, salted butter will stay fresh longer either refrigerated or not. Unsalted butter, even when refrigerated, has a tendency to go rancid before people have a chance to use it.

  2. Ambient odors/flavors. Unsalted butters, when left in the fridge, is more apt to pick up ambient flavors, smells, odors, etc. from adjacent foods in the fridge. Salted butter? Less so.

So, there you go.

Plus, people get their diapers all wadded up about being ever so precise in baking. And, yes, generally baking is a precision exercise in measurement (preferably by weight, not volume) but an extra pinch of salt here or there never ruined any baked item – sweet or savory – nor harmed any human being.

So, there you go. Again.

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Vermont Cultured Butter with fleur de sel via Amazon and your local Ralphs/Whole Foods/Vons is mui bueno.

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Thanks! I’ll try that.

Thanks! Yeah, I really like that one (the one with maple & sea salt is great, too) but I’ve only seen the 4oz rolls which don’t last very long in my house.

Sorry, I’m picky. :grimacing:

Have you tried the TJ’s cultured salted butter from Brittany? It’s been my everyday butter since they’ve started carrying it. It’s the same price as Kerrygold, but I like it much better. I don’t know if it’ll be salty enough for you (it’s salty enough for me), but the QPR on it is very good.

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I know Surfas used to carry Vermont Cultured butter in a larger size. Hopefully someone else locally will have it!

Does anyone know if the cheese vendor is still there at the Saturday SM FM ? They sell an incredible Jersey milk butter and they usually cut you a deal if you buy more than one

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I’ll second this one. It isn’t as salty as the OPs preferred brand, but it is surprisingly good and is noticeably saltier than most other brands.

Pamplie also makes a great French butter with fleur de sel. That should fit the bill if you can track it down.

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My favorite American butter is Straus. Salted or un-, like their milk it has more flavor than most American dairies’.

http://strausfamilycreamery.com/store-locator

Salted vs. unsalted is really just a matter of taste. Before refrigeration people kept butter under brine to keep it from going rancid or moldy, but with modern refrigerators and plastic wrap salted and unsalted butter both keep for months, longer than they ever last in my house. The expiration data on the Plugra we bought yesterday is 17 weeks away.

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I’m glad you spoke up about spoilage. We have two homes so there are times that butter is in the fridge for months with no problem at all. Oh, right, unsalted.

Perhaps spoilage may have been a bit strong of a description, but stale butter is no bueno.

Expiration dates on sticks of butter are actually one of the few (if not the only) expiration / use by / best by dates that are actually overstated.

I don’t think I’ve ever had butter go off except in rental apartments with crappy refrigerators.

I toss my butter in the freezer. It keeps well beyond the expiration date that way.

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I never keep butter around.

I buy, I use.

Leftovers? I toss.

The refrigerator part is a good point. My fridges are good. I cleaned out one today of some potentially really disgusting things. Nothing stank or was moldy. I was shocked :slight_smile:

I have and it wasn’t as rich and creamy as I like. It had a oily/greasy quality to it, imo.

Yes, I realize that this might be a “me problem”, and that the butter is perfectly fine. :laughing: