Holiday Baking season has just begun, and you’ll soon be checking the pantry and stocking up on the basics like flour, sugar, and butter. Which is why it’s the perfect time to think about which butter to buy. Or maybe you’ve never really given it much thought, after all, how much variance can there possibly be in an ingredient made of milk solids, water, and butterfat?
Well, as it turns out, Food & Wine asserts that there are noticeable differences that come to light after spending quality time taste testing brands side-by-side. Which is why they took on the challenge to find the best butters out there, because the top chefs and bakers know that finding the best types of butter for your specific needs is a simple way to take even your at-home cooking and baking to the next level.
Why Test Unsalted Butter?
Ask any chef what butter they use for cooking and baking and the answer will almost always be unsalted. Why? It’s all about salt control and precision. For a balanced dish, you need to be able to control the level of salt and it starts with knowing how much salt you’re using. If you’re cooking and baking with salted butter, it’s more difficult to accurately know how much salt is in the butter and adjust your seasoning accordingly. With unsalted butter, you know exactly how much salt is in the dish. Using unsalted butter is also a protection against oversalting your dish before you start actually seasoning it.
How they Tested
A team of Food & Wine editors participated in this taste test. To keep the test fair, they compared only unsalted butters and did not sample salted, dairy-free, plant-based, or vegan butter alternatives. They tested both American-style and European-style unsalted butter; American-style butter must contain at least 80% butterfat and a maximum of 16% water content, while European-style butter must contain a minimum of 82% butterfat and 16% water content according to the USDA and the European Union, respectively.
Before the tasting, the butters were left at room temperature for one hour to allow the testers to get the most flavor notes and assess the butters’ spreadability. Evaluators were asked to rate the butters based on their overall flavor, texture, spreadability, color, and aroma. Each tester tasted the butter plain as well as spread on unsalted crackers. They were also instructed to cleanse their palate with water and additional plain unsalted crackers before moving on to the next butter.
So without further ado, here are the Butter Winners:
Best overall: Kerrygold Pure Irish Unsalted Butter
Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter is the cream of the crop across the board. It has everything going for it: deep richness (thanks to 82% butterfat), earthy and grassy notes, sweetness, and spreads like a dream. This butter is thick and glides across crackers and toast like velvet. Although it’s unsalted, there is a faintly savory aftertaste that keeps you coming back for more. The best part? There’s no need for any luck of the Irish when it comes to finding Kerrygold. As the most successful food export out of Ireland, Kerrygold is found at almost every major grocery retailer in the United States. $4 for one 8-ounce pack at walmart.com
Best American-made: Vital Farms Pasture Raised Unsalted Butter
Don’t let the youth of this brand fool you — Vital Farms makes quality butter. What started out as a single farm in Austin, Texas, in 2007 is now one of the leading brands of butter and eggs in the United States. Vital Farms is an American-made brand, but a European-style butter containing a whopping 85% butterfat. If you’re in the market for making it a savory compound butter, this is your brand as its flavor is similar to a glass of fresh cold milk with a nutty Parmesan-like twinge. Fun Fact: Vital Farms is the only brand on this list that is B Corp Certified, a distinguished honor given by B Lab to companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance. The certification is only held by a little over 8,000 companies in 96 countries. $5 for one 8-ounce pack at sprouts.com
Best European-style: Président Unsalted Butter
Can’t take a trip to the lush pastures of Normandy, France? Stocking up on Président is a close second. For over 90 years, Président has prized itself on superior quality for its unsalted and salted butter and a vast array of specialty cheeses. This butter is heavily influenced by Normandy’s oceanic climate and rich soil, and the terroir lends a deeply rich mouthfeel with subtle hints of hazelnut. One tester described its richness as “almost like whipped cream,” making it a perfect match for an aromatic butter chicken or a dense pound cake. $6 for one 7-ounce block at amazon.com
Best value: Vermont Creamery Cultured Unsalted Butter
Better quality doesn’t always mean bigger spending. Case in point: Martha Stewart called Vermont Creamery the best unsalted butter, and it’s also the most affordable butter we tried, clocking in at just 22 cents per ounce. The butter boasts an ultra-nutty flavor, but what really sets it apart is its tang. It’s a cultured butter, meaning that the cream is treated with live bacterial cultures. This technique ultimately increases the aroma, flavor, and acidity of the butter. This butter’s tang is present, but not too sour on the back of the palate, unlike some of the other cultured butters we tasted. Balanced by the overall creaminess and those nutty notes, the flavors leave you with a sweet and milky finish. If you’re a fan of brown butter desserts or fall-forward brown butter pastas, you’ll definitely want to keep a few sticks handy in your refrigerator. $4 for one 8-ounce pack at vermontcreamery.com
Best splurge: Tillamook Extra Creamy Unsalted Butter
Tillamook is owned and operated by a farmer-owned co-op in Tillamook, Oregon, but it is available at grocery stores nationally. Although this butter was milder in flavor, it was a stand-out for its silky texture that spread well on the crackers without a trace of clumping. Gone are the days of subpar spreading of butter on morning toast, raggedy butter bits on your favorite seasonal crudites, or piercing of your perfectly fluffy pancake while trying to spread out your butter pat on its surface. It clocks in around $7 for a pound, which is about $3 more than the average price of butter. If you’re willing to spend a little more for your basic butter needs, we promise Tillamook’s texture is worth it. $7 for one 16-ounce pack at target.com
Best grocery store brand: 365 Organic Unsalted Butter
There isn’t a ton of enthusiasm around grocery store brands but this Whole Foods brand was a fan favorite among our testers. The aroma is clean and doesn’t smell like the faux butter pumped on movie theater popcorn. One tester said, “I could eat this butter plain.” If that’s not exactly your cup of tea, you can add a pat (or two) on fluffy pancakes or waffles and thank us later. $4 for one 16-ounce pack at wholefoodsmarket.com
Honorable Mention: Horizon Organic Unsalted Butter
While there wasn’t one particular quality that stood out to the testers, this butter still rated highly amongst our testers overall. Its beauty lies in its neutral palate and pure milk flavor, and we can imagine it working on everything from steamed vegetables to seamlessly adding body and a touch of luster to a sauce. The adorable cow on the package is a nice touch, too. $10 for one 16-ounce pack at amazon.com.
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