Posted on 05/05/2026 12:42:00 PM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
Butter is having a moment. No longer just a bit player in baking or a back-of-fridge standby, it’s taking center stage — whipped into sculptural boards, swirled into pastas, slathered generously on crusty bread. And yet, most of us still toss the same familiar yellow box into our grocery carts week after week. What actually makes a butter “better,” and which store-bought slabs are worth the splurge?
To find out, we talked to chefs, cheesemongers and cookbook authors obsessed with butter — not just for the flavor, but for the science and soul behind it. We asked about butter for cooking, baking, and simply slathering on a piece of toast. What we discovered: Great butter isn’t about branding. It’s about butterfat, culture (literally) and how it performs on your toast and in your pan.
First, let’s break down the basics: Most American butter is made from sweet cream, which means it’s churned from pasteurized fresh cream and tastes clean and mild. Cultured butter, on the other hand, is made by fermenting cream with lactic acid bacteria before churning. The result? A richer texture and a slightly tangy, more complex flavor — like the difference between milk and crème fraîche.
“Cultured butter has a much more pronounced buttery flavor than sweet cream butter,” said John Montez, a certified cheese professional through the American Cheese Society and training manager at Murray’s Cheese. “It has a slight tang … and when butter is the star of the show [like spread on a crusty baguette], for me it has to be cultured.”.......
Butterfat is the creamy good stuff that gives butter its richness and spreadability........
“Kerrygold can’t be beat for grass-fed Irish butter,” Montez said. “Vermont Creamery also makes an excellent salted cultured butter, and I always go for local if I can,” .
(Excerpt) Read more at huffpost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Finlandia is far superior to Kerrygold. And Kerrygold isn't 100% grassfed -- they supplement with grain feed during the winter.
If you're on a budget, Costco's Kirkland grassfed butter (sourced from New Zealand) is very good.
I’m no butter snob; I have to buy the least expensive brand. But Braumn’s Dairy Stores, a regional company out of Oklahoma, makes cultured butter, and when it’s on sale, I buy it. The fat content and butter fat are all the same, no matter which brand.
We like Falfurias butter. I had an aunt who lived in Falfurias. Butter is butter.
No additives for us.
Kerry Gold has been my popcorn butter, too, for many years. Now my wife won’t have popcorn any other way! Nothing wrong with a little popcorn snobbery :-)
Butter has only two ingredients: Pasteurized cream & Salt. The salt is for preservation. If you read the packaging and it lists something else, it is not butter.
The best butter is the one you like.
I don’t like grass-fed beef because it’s tough and hurts my teeth.
I’m with you completely. H
Same here. Regular butter seems lame by comparison.
Pretty much all beef is grass fed for most of their lives. It's only the last few months the cows spend in a feed lot with virtually unlimited soy and corn feed to fatten them up for market. All that fat makes for a tasty ribeye, but if you've ever been to a large feed lot where cattle are "grain finished", it is pretty disgusting.
“everything’s better with Blue Bonnet On it”
Costco carries Kirkland grass-fed New Zealand butter that is basically Kerrygold knock off. Quite good if you ask me.
I also buy their ghee for the rare lobster occasion, or whenever I need clarified butter.
See my prior post, try the Kirkland knockoff Kerrygold.
>>I’m happy to share the ground beef stroganoff recipe which I discovered this year. It uses a roux.
Please.
I made Hot Brown sliders for a Derby party Saturday. The Hot Brown is a Louisville thing, from the Brown Hotel downtown. Involves Mornay sauce, which also starts with a roux.
I bought butter at Piggly Wiggly in the SE US, it only cost $2.89 per pound had no brand, but the label said it was from Wisconsin. I thought the source was good, how bad can it be, answered: awful, fried eggs in the stuff, yuck. Almost threw out my expensive, designer, Stone Ground Grits before the truth came out. Back to Wally World.
yep the Amish rolled butter tastes like what our grandmothers used to hand churn back in the day,, I always use that on rolls and cooking my eggs,, the cheaper butter I use to bake with
I sent details to you by mail. This is the basic recipe.
I add about a lb of sliced mushrooms.
https://www.thecountrycook.net/beef-stroganoff/#recipe
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.