Buying Butter

When you go to the store to buy butter do you stand there and wonder what to buy? Brand wise, I buy the store brand for everyday and Land O Lakes when I am making recipes that really depend on the butter for the taste. Sue buys Troyer Roll Butter at Cantril for table use, excellent butter especially for someone who always has fresh bread to eat, and she buys store brand for most baking and cooking. I am not a fan of the cultured butters as I really don’t care for the tangy taste of it. Which includes the Irish butters and most European types.

 The cooking shows now days tend to push the high end and expensive products. They certainly are good, but not necessary to buy. Buy what your budget can handle. It is still going to taste much better than Margarine and not have all the chemicals added to it.

 Sue and I can still remember going to our local  Dairy and buying butter for our Grandmother. It came in a crock and you had to have one to return or they wouldn’t give you another one. As I recall it was very good butter. We had a tabletop glass churn (that was when milk had cream on top to the bottle) but only our Dad had enough strength to finish it at the end. We didn’t use it much.

 Some of the types you will see in the store are these.

Unsalted butter: Sometimes called “sweet cream butter,” this is the most versatile variety.

Salted butter: Just like the unsalted but with the addition of salt. Many people reach for this when buttering bread. I use it with most recipes calling for unsalted.

Whipped butter: This variety has air or some other gas, such as nitrogen, added to it to make it less dense than standard butter, so a little goes a long way. The increased volume results in fewer calories per tablespoon (often half) and a lighter texture. It is not recommended for baking or cooking.

European-style butter: Loaded with extra milk fat—82 to 85 percent for most brands—European-style butter has less moisture than standard butter. Because it is made with fermented (also called “cultured”) cream, it has a slight tang. European-style butter can be used for all cooking tasks.

Spreadable butter: A combination of regular butter and vegetable oil (and sometimes other flavorings and fillers), this product maintains a soft texture even when refrigerated. It is not recommended for baking or cooking.

Light butter: This option has half the calories of standard butter because it contains less milk fat—40 percent at most. The rest is made up of water, lactic acid, and other fillers. It is not recommended for baking or cooking.

Butterlike spread: Often marked with the label “buttery spread,” this has a similar soft texture to spreadable butter but contains far less real butter—at most 5 percent and sometimes none at all. Instead, it is made primarily from a blend of vegetable oils and other fillers. Its benefits include fewer calories, less fat, and just a trace amount of cholesterol. It is not recommended for baking or cooking.

Ghee is usually available in high end markets and box stores. I have seen it at smaller chains also, just not all the time. It a version of clarified butter.

You can store your butter in your freezer for a longer time...this is Sue's upright freezer door!