And the Best-Tasting Butter Award goes to...

[black chef]

1st place: my vote goes to Strauss European Style.

and surprisingly, in 2nd place: Land-O-Lakes in a stunning upset over Lurpak.

 

[Ishbel]

Bridel lightly salted butter
President unsalted butter
Orkney butter
then Lurpack slightly salted

Sorry, I've never heard of Strauss or Land O Lakes

 

[Constance]

I haven't heard of any those except the Land 'o Lakes brand, Black Chef. We have that, a local brand called Prairie Farms, and the store brand available. Being the middle of the road person that I am, I always buy Prairie Farms.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I've never tried any of the European-style butters - mostly because they're so expensive & also because I use mostly extra-virgin olive oil in my cooking. What do you who've tried it find the biggest difference to be? Richness? Texture? Just wonder.

For those times when I'm not using olive oil, I nearly always buy unsalted Land O Lakes for cooking, & (shame on me!!) "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" for toast & vegetable buttering.

 

[Half Baked]

I like unsalted Plugra for smearing on things...mmmm

Land o' Lakes unsalted for baking and sauteeing.

 

[urmaniac13]

From the supermarket shelves I prefer Lurpak, also some products (the exact name escapes me right now...) from the Alpine region (Trentino, Piemonte, Valle d'Aosta). Except for those made in this area, Italian butter, I must say, seems to be a bit inferior to the ones made in further north. (Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria etc.)

But nothing compares to the one we got directly from a mountain farmer while we were in the alps (Stelvio, Trentino), freshly made. It was like a solid block of rich cream, I could just eat a pure chunk of it!! mmmmm....

 

[Half Baked]

That's the way it was for us in Germany...so many to choose from. My favorite was a brand from Denmark. Shoot, I could eat it for dessert. (slight exageration)

 

[Robo410]

Euro style or Irish butter. Next would be Land o Lakes or Kellers ... I always use unsalted so I can season my own way.

 

[Katie H]

We live in an area where daylight has to be trucked in, so our only choices for butter are Land o' Lakes and generic house brands. It would be nice to have others but that's not in the cards right now.

 

[kitchenelf]

I will have to check the stores to see what else is available - I always buy Land O'Lakes unsalted. I have used the European butter very rarely - but boy is it good! It's great to keep in one of those butter bells ready for spreading! I feel so guilty because it has such a higher fat content though. It wasn't until recently that I even saw a stick of it in the grocery store! Had to go to a specialty store like Dean & Deluca to get it.

Breezy - it's richer, creamier, "fuller" - it's wonderful!

I don't even know what other butter choices are out there - not margarine, I know those - but butter. I guess I'll check it out today!

 

[rickell]

ummmmmmmmmmmmm butter i normally go with land o lakes but
on spec occ i will buy the european brand not sure of the name.

 

[buckytom]

i like many of the aforementioned.

lurpak is excellent, so is president, and unsalted land-o-lakes is usually found in my fridge.

i prefer unsalted butter if available. if i want salt, i'll add salt.

the best butter i've ever had by far was freshly churned butter; once in ireland, and once in wisconsin. like most things that are made from milk and cream, freshness is the key. even a day or two later, and it's just not as good.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Oh boy - do I remember having fun as a "cooking kid" making butter from heavy cream. I thought that was the coolest thing - lol!!!

 

[Sandyj]

This was an interesting post. I wondered about the different tastes of butter ever since reading that they're not all the same. For years, my mom bought margerine, never butter. I followed suit until I started to learn to like cooking. The best I've tried is Land 'o Lakes, but now I'm going to look out for some of those others. Someone here said "shame on me" about spreading "I Can't Believe..." on toast... That's not so terrible a thing to do is it? Recently, I tried the Smart Balance product (for toast), and it's not bad, doesn't seem to me to have an artificial taste, although now that I know I'm butter challenged, I could be wrong.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Sandyj - I really like the taste of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter", but husband prefers "Smart Balance", so we always have both in the fridge, since we both have cholesterol issues.

Because of the liquid content of both of the above, they unfortunately don't fare well when one has to saute something - like mushrooms. They really end up "steaming" the food, rather than sauteeing, which is why I still do keep unsalted Land O Lakes around for cooking.

However, both Smart Balance & I Can't Believe perform admirably as spreads & for flavoring hot veggies, etc.

 

[ChefJune]

Land O' Lakes is really good butter, and they make the Stop and Shop Brand, so if you live near a Stop and Shop, watch for the sales!!! It's a great deal! I like Land O' Lakes for most baking, and most cooking.. Unsalted, only.

For serving I buy Ronnybrook from the Greenmarket, or sometimes I'll make butter myself from the Ronnybrook Cream. It doesn't take long in the Cuisinart...

 

[jennyema]

I like Lurpak (salted) for spreading and on veggies. Or Kerrygold. They have both in my Stop and Shop.

Otherwise it's unsalted Land O Lakes. Or Stop and Shop brand now, thanks to June.

If you can find Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. butter, it's fabulous. COmes in a roll.

 

[black chef]

I haven't heard of any those except the Land 'o Lakes brand, Black Chef. We have that, a local brand called Prairie Farms, and the store brand available. Being the middle of the road person that I am, I always buy Prairie Farms.

the european-style butter has to have greater than 82% butterfat content.

it costs a little more, but it gives your dishes that extra boost of creaminess we all love.

as stated, i LOVE the straus family european-style... it's organic, it's got a VERY high butterfat content, and it tastes wonderful. i buy it at the local Whole Foods Market.

http://www.strausmilk.com/index.php?mod=products

scroll down their page.

 

[mudbug]

and yet not one vote for Plugra, readily available for mega bucks here.

 

[shpj4]

black chef I have never heard of the butter that you mentioned. In California we have Land Of Lakes, I Can't Believe It Isn't Butter, Healthy Choice, Smart Balance etc.

My favorite is I Can't Believe It Isn't Butter."