AMSeccia
Sous Chef
Maverick, we must have posted just seconds apart. I don't mean for my post to sound like I'm correcting you, I agree ... salt prevents spoilage, yep!
That's not the only reason:
The addition of salt to butter is to inhibit the growth of organisms that would otherwise sour the butter.. to quote Goodweed.
Yes Andy, I'm sure the dairy council is mistaken.
That and I still know many people that do not refrigerate their butter but leave it in a butter dish on the table. Ask them and they will tell you that is the way the prefer it, and why they buy salted.
Myself I always refrigerate my butter, the idea of leaving it out just doesn't appeal to me at all!
But, I am sure there are many today that do buy salted or unsalted based solely on preference of taste so I can see where Andy is coming from here.
LoL butter is grade AA butter. If the store brand is also grade AA, any differences should be minimal if any. The US govt. dictates minimum fat content (80%) for butter in the US. All brands will meet that requirement.
We buy butter in quantity from Costco. It costs less than $2.00 a pound and is just as good as LoL.
LoL is more expensive because of it's highly recognizable national brand name.
Different cow varieties produce different tasting milk. Also, the food they eat affects the flavor. Cattle that have eaten a significant portion of alfalfa in their diet produce milk that has an "off" flavor reminiscent of vitamin pills. Cattle that eat primarily sweet hay have a sweeter flavored milk.
Depending on the time of year, and the food available, milk varies from one batch to another, depending on what the animals are eating.