What's your favorite butter? And Unsalted vs. Salted

What brand of butter do you use at your resto/home? I'm trying to find new ones to try.

My hands down favorite is Lurpak, a danish butter.

Also, I always buy unsalted, since I like to control the salt in the dish, and in case I make desert. I never understood why people like the salted butter...am I missing something?

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Comments

Tim_Sutherland_52834

As my spreading/eating butter it is Lurpak.

For cooking I have always used Central Markets European Unsalted. This is because I was always told to use unsalted butter during culinary school and it was the only butter available when I worked in restaurants. After a recent post by ChefStepers @Chris and @Grant I will try salted in the future (the amount of salt is very small; salt slows the butter going rancid)

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Tim, can you cite the thread for me where @Chris & @Grant share their thoughts on butter? Thanks!

Mira_63004

I must have missed the butter thread!

Mira_63004

Ah, I could see how the salt helps with that. But really, whose butter goes rancid nowadays? I still find the salt taste discernible, I know it's not super salty...

I'll look for the butter thread...thanks guys.

Chris_Young_80640

Salt not only enhances the flavor, but salting the butter will cause it to develop aromas in a slightly different way during the culturing step. So the flavor will be different, but which you prefer totally depends on your preference.

I will, however, add that I recently came across a research paper showing that salted butter splatters less in a frying pan than unsalted butter. It had to do with the stability of the emulsified water droplets.

Lennard__34626

I've been told by a chef that salted butter has a higher smoke point. Is there any truth in this?

Chris_Young_80640

I'm skeptical of that claim. But I can't refute it either.

Matt_67991

What do you guys think about half salted butter? Personally, I find butter to be best when it is in my mouth.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I use Plugra unsalted. It's a 'European style' butter, which basically just means it's a bit higher in fat content than most U.S.-produced butters. (I think the difference is only like a couple percent)

Matt_67991

Matthew, some European style butters are also cultured.

Does anyone actually prefer uncultured butter?

ren_74229

@Henri I like all manner of butters. I enjoy cultured butters for the developed flavors, but there are also sweet cream butters that I love for their simplicity...and in some cases, because it tastes like fresh milk.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

I love both sweet and cultured butter, but it has to be churned from raw Jersey cream.

The commercial stuff has never suited me, no matter the source.

Bj_rn_Olfenius_39604

I'm really a big fan of sour butter and experiment a lot with making my own and different cultures inside

naithaddi

In France, in Britany we are cooking pretty much exclusively with salted butter (It's pretty much a crime to use unsalted butter) Best butter are "Pamplie" and "Bordier" you can get them in the UK, not sure for the states. The rest of the north of the country uses unsalted butter (on average) and the south is pretty much set on olive oil.

Nicky_J_17040

plugra

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Kerrygold for its rich flavor and higher Omega-3 fatty acid content. It's pretty much the only pastured butter that I can find reliably in American supermarkets -- and specialty markets for that matter.

Jack_Mayer_85396

I'll second the recommendations for both Plugra and Kerrygold, at least here in America. If you have a Costco near you, Kerrygold is available for a decent price.

trev_teich

Plugra all the way

jpderagon

I am luckily able to get pound blocks of Plugra unsalted pretty cheap at the local store, so that is my day to day cooking butter, for simple butter on bread applications, my hands down favorite is Lescure demi-sel

Mira_63004

Seems like most of you prefer Plugra.

Honestly, if you guys hadn't mentioned it, I don't think I would've ever noticed it in the store.

So....I bought my first brick of Plugra. And, after a taste, I can see the appeal, but I still prefer Lurpak. The Plugra was almost too fatty. It had a residual oily feeling in my mouth. Plus Lurpak seems sweeter to me and I like that.

Of course, it's merely personal preference at this point.

I want to try KerryGold...and also I learned about Smjor - it's an Icelandic butter. Supposedly in Iceland antibiotics and hormones are illegal (for livestock), and the cows are grass fed. Sounds like a promising butter to me! Have you had it before?

Brandon_34695

For the northeast, these guys make my favorite butter for bread and spreading. http://www.kriemhilddairy.com

For sautee and other small uses, I always have a cultured, unsalted butter by Plugra, Kerrygold, Lurpak or something like this on hand.

For baking, I just switched to using the Whole Foods brand in half stick format for convenience. I think Kerrygold is only a dollar more here, but it is kind of a pain to work with big blocks.

Mira_63004

The whole stick thing seems to be more of an American thing. I haven't really found any European butters in sticks.

Matt_67991

@Mira And it varies between the coasts. The west coast sticks of butter seem a bit chubbier.

com-chefsteps

I must admit that at home, my unsalted butter goes rancid a couple of times a year - I just don't use that much when I'm trying to eat healthy. I've been playing with the idea of switching to salted - it's not overseasoned, and I just end up salting the unsalted kind.

Sin, I know.

Mira_63004

@Ted, you could always freeze it. I don't really eat alot of butter, but I can't have eggs without it.

@Henry, never heard of that. I wonder why that is...I always felt like the west coast is more health conscious.

naithaddi

plugra is a funny name. it must be a node to "plus gras" meaning "fatier" in french.

Mira_63004

@Nicolas, it actually does come from "plus gras", good observation!

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Nicholas - thanks for info! I always wondered about the name ...

jm_24359

Echire