We’ve all gone mad for fancy breads over the past few months. If you weren’t making sourdough, what did you do with yourself in lockdown?
But to go with that lovely loaf, you need a truly superior spread, which is why foodies have turned to gourmet ‘artisan’ butter in their droves. So, what does it taste like, and is it any different to your standard Anchor or Lurpak?
WHAT’S BETTER BUTTER?
Whether butter is made on an industrial scale in a factory or hand-mixed at home, it’s all created in the same way.
Cream is churned until it separates into fat solids, which become the butter and liquid buttermilk. This liquid is drained off, then the butter is rinsed and shaped into pats.
If you’re bored of your usual salted butter there are plenty of alternatives available including anchovy butter to pair with lamb and whisky and bone marrow-infused butter for steak
What makes artisan butter different is the quality of milk that’s used. It’s made in small batches with strict controls over the ingredients.
The breed of cow, the time of year, and hundreds of other tiny factors can all have a profound effect on flavour and texture.
Butter made with Irish milk, for example, is often a startling, almost luminous yellow colour thanks to the amount of beta carotene in the grass, a factor dictated by the local climate.
Ben Ambridge, chef and owner of The Fox’s Revenge restaurant in Newquay, Cornwall, says: ‘Cornish dairy farms are invariably on the coast, which means rain clouds bring in nutrients from the sea to feed the grass. Their cows produce milk that makes incredible butter.’
Cows living in Cornwall are said to produce the best tasting butter says chef Ben Ambridge
FABULOUS FLAVOURS
Once, butter came in two flavours: salted or not. Whip in a bit of garlic and you had a high culinary treat.
But now crafty butter makers are creating flavour combinations that make butter a highlight, instead of just an accompaniment.
Pop into high-end restaurants, local delis and farmers’ markets this summer and you can expect craft butter infused with everything from bone marrow to lobster, seaweed, rose petals or treacle.
Chef Ben Ambridge makes his own whisky and bone marrow-infused butter to enhance the flavours of his steaks, and anchovy butter for lamb.
GOOD FOR YOU
There are even tangy, ‘cultured’ butters, which are fermented, meaning they’re packed with bacteria supposed to be good for your gut. These have a stronger taste than supermarket spread.
To make cultured butter, the milk is soured with lactic cultures — a bit like yoghurt — before being churned.
Cultured butter has even become a course of its own at restaurants such as The Court, a members’ club in Soho, and at The Dairy restaurant (temporarily closed) in South London.
DO A TASTE TEST
Super fresh, most craft butters have a shorter-than-usual shelf life, so you won’t often find them at the supermarket. But you can order online, or try making your own!
TRY A RECIPE
Regular butter by Alan Kingston at Glenilen Farm, Co Cork
1. Place 400ml double cream in a stand mixer (or, shake the cream in a screw-top jar) until it starts to separate into globules of butter and buttermilk.
2. Strain off the buttermilk, then rinse the butter with cold water until it runs clear.
3. Strain again, and knead in the flavourings. Two teaspoons of salt is traditional, or you can whip in Marmite, herbs, cinnamon or anything else you fancy.
…OR CULTURED BUTTER
Cultured butter by George Lang at The Cheese Merchant in Surrey
1. Put 500g crème fraîche in a bowl and whisk for three minutes, until it starts to separate. Pour away any buttermilk.
2. The solids will look like butter, but will taste sour due to buttermilk residue. To get rid of it, put the butter into a bowl of cold water and mash with a fork for 30 seconds. Sieve.
3. Repeat this four or five times until the water stops turning cloudy as you mash.
4. Mix in sea salt or flavourings such as chives, garlic, and parsley. Refrigerate and use within a week.
USE A GADGET
Sounds like hard work? You can buy a churn that will take the strain, such as the Kilner Butter Churner (£22.95, silvermushroom.com). Fill the jar with 300 ml whipping cream, screw on the lid and turn the handle. It makes butter in ten minutes.
Kilner Butter Churner (£22.95, silvermushroom.com)
Alternatively, try the Tescoma Butter Maker (£14.07, amazon.co.uk). Fill with whipping cream and a spoonful of sour cream and pump the plunger until the fat and buttermilk separate.
Shape your product with wooden butter paddles (£6, dunelm.com), or use a maplewood mould (125g Round Butter Mould, £11.25, souschef.co.uk).
OR JUST BUY IT!
Netherend Farm Butter, £2.99 for 250g, netherendfarmbutter.co.uk
A creamy Gloucestershire butter on sale at food halls and from your milkman, milkandmore.co.uk.
Dorset Dairy Company, £3.75 for 250g, farmdrop.com
Made from cultured milk, giving it a distinctive, slightly tangy taste.
Abernethy Smoked Butter, £2 for 100g, abernethybutter.com
Handmade and smoked, the family-run company in Northern Ireland boasts that this hand-churned butter has a barbecue-like flavour.