Let’s get to know each others butter

[blossie33]

I remember the milk carton being this weird pyramid shape. Then they changed it to a normal brick shape. I think it was brown with yellow and blue lettering. It sat on top of a cupboard getting warm and you gulped it down quickly because it was rank. I'm guessing it was probably semi-skimmed.

Milk was still in glass bottles when I was at school and was free then too.
I actually liked the school milk, sometimes I would drink a second one at lunch time, there were usually some bottles left in crates at the bottom of the school staircase.

 

[UrbaneFox]

Does anyone here buy cream and whip it into butter themselves? I have a colleague who does, and she's almost as lazy as me, so it can't be too difficult.

I did once. I had just bought an electric whisk and wanted to try it. Patting it into a neat shape was tricky, so I just hacked bits off for a few weeks.

 

[Epona]

I find there's really very little difference between supermarket own brand or budget brand butters, and the slightly more expensive brand name butters (many of which have reduced their pack size from 250 to 200g).

So for regular use, I buy whichever salted butter is cheapest from the supermarkets I have ready access to or use regularly for delivery. Which at the moment is Morrisons Savers Salted Butter at £1.79 for 250g. It's indistinguishable from their other own brand salted butter which is £2 for 250g, except for packaging, so I call shenanigans.

There's a minimum amount of butterfat that legally has to be in a product labelled as butter in the UK anyway, it's not like in some places where you might find something labelled as butter and find it is a sub-standard product (there's a reason why in the US mayonnaise is often used in sarnies in place of butter), it's quite heavily regulated here so if you're buying something that is packaged as butter, it's butter. (As in there is a hard line drawn as a minimum quality of product at the budget end that adheres to regulations and as such it will be decent enough butter.)

 

[ska invita]

falling out of fashion....

 

[ouirdeaux]

many of which have reduced their pack size from 250 to 200g

See also coffee, which has jumped about crazily in the last two years in terms of both price and size. For whatever reason the standard size used to be 227g (huh?). Now I find that some brands offer 200g, but others are 227g or even 250g. Stop trying to cheat us.

 

[Epona]

falling out of fashion....

View attachment 447777

Except that butter in the US isn't necessarily what we refer to as butter here anyway, due to different regulations about what can be called butter, and how it is produced (so the difference in flavour profile between butter and marg in the US may well be less pronounced in many cases)

Here’s the Actual Difference Between European and American Butter

And why you might want to keep both around.

www.epicurious.com

 

[ouirdeaux]

I'm mystified by the conclusion.

When I’m making huge batches of croissant dough to keep in my freezer, I use a less-expensive, high-butterfat American butter, and it works great. But when I’m alone in the kitchen with a basket of radishes, I go for the rich, lactic flavors of salted Beurre d’Isigny.

I have no idea what she does with her radishes and butter. I think I may be better off that way.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

For whatever reason the standard size used to be 227g (huh?). Now I find that some brands offer 200g, but others are 227g or even 250g. Stop trying to cheat us.

227g is half a pound - although i thought they weren't allowed to sell stuff in pounds because EU. (i don't do coffee so wouldn't have noticed)

Maybe it's another 'brexit benefit' in that they can quietly reduce 500g to 450g and so on?

 

[Epona]

I'm mystified by the conclusion.

When I’m making huge batches of croissant dough to keep in my freezer, I use a less-expensive, high-butterfat American butter, and it works great. But when I’m alone in the kitchen with a basket of radishes, I go for the rich, lactic flavors of salted Beurre d’Isigny.

I have no idea what she does with her radishes and butter. I think I may be better off that way.

Aye, she's a US based food writer - so she's used to US butter, which in many cases is quite bland.
So she's saying she wants the bland flavour of a short process high butterfat American butter (probably about the same butterfat content as our regular supermarket butter) for baking.
And a French butter that has a slightly sour tangy note for when she wants something that actually tastes of butter (which due to regulation in terms of production methods is also present in our supermarket butter in the UK) - lactic flavours, I would hope so as it's a dairy product.

 

[Epona]

It was probably the wrong article to post a link to, I couldn't find much (ok, anything) from this side of the pond in terms of food writers talking about the difference between American and European butter, strangely enough

But illustrates the point that when you see on US recipe websites people are talking about butter, or graphs/charts of what people in the US are eating in terms of butter vs. marg, it isn't the same flavour as what we call butter (even the most basic Morrisons Savers or ASDA Essentials butter) in the UK.

 

[ouirdeaux]

The radishes are disturbing me, with or without the butter. The internet tells me that radishes and butter is a French snack. I am not sure whether to believe it. For me radishes are something you put in a salad to add crunch and colour. The flavour, frankly, isn't up being a dish on its own; this applies to numerous raw salad vegetables. The butter isn't really helping, wheverever it comes from.

 

[Epona]

The radishes are disturbing me, with or without the butter. The internet tells me that radishes and butter is a French snack. I am not sure whether to believe it. For me radishes are something you put in a salad to add crunch and colour. The flavour, frankly, isn't up being a dish on its own; this applies to numerous raw salad vegetables. The butter isn't really helping, wheverever it comes from.

Oh no, cooked radishes are lovely, you've been missing out - sautée in butter or roast them and sprinkle with sea salt, or slice them to go in a stir fry.

You need proper radishes though, not the weaklings produced for long shelf life that you find in the supermarket.

 

[UrbaneFox]

You need proper radishes though, not the weaklings produced for long shelf life that you find in the supermarket.

Where do you get yours? What do proper radishes look like?

 

[Epona]

Where do you get yours? What do proper radishes look like?

I've not done it for a while, but radishes are pretty easy to grow in pots.
That way you get all the greens to use as well, they're tasty too and rich in iron (treat a bit like spinach).

 

[UrbaneFox]

Frankly my parents go all out for butter and have this stuff

View attachment 447360


Except when in Ireland

Lescure French Unsalted Butter | Waitrose & Partners

Buy Lescure French Unsalted Butter online from Waitrose today. Picked, packed and delivered by hand in convenient 1-hour slots

www.waitrose.com

I keep meaning to buy one of these flash French butters but I think £2 for block of British is enough to spend.

I rarely eat the whole block, unless a friend visits in which case it's buttered toast all week.

I fear I would eat the whole thing, and I struggle enough with my paunch.

Isigny Ste Mere Unpasteurised Salted Butter | Waitrose & Partners

Buy Isigny Ste Mere Unpasteurised Salted Butter online from Waitrose today. Picked, packed and delivered by hand in convenient 1-hour slots

www.waitrose.com

Quick, it's on offer at £2.96

 

[xenon]

I use Lerpack or the Cornish butter Tesco et al sell. Can't be arsed checking. Gave Lerpack spreadable and marg shit the boot as all that trans fat shit and I hardly eat toast so may as well use something decent. Used to use Flora years ago. Awful stuff.

 

[xenon]

Lurpak, that's what I meant.

 

[cesare]

I take it that we're the only ones that have Benecol.

 

[Saul Goodman]

I take it that we're the only ones that have Benecol.

Hopefully.

 

[ouirdeaux]

Sounds like a cough suppressant. Maybe it is. If it isn't, it's a silly name.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I’m obviously younger than you!

Thatcher was called the “milk snatcher” because she took away free school milk when in Heath’s cabinet.

We didn't pay for school milk so maybe it differed regionally. They should have been paying us to drink the stuff to be fair.

 

[Happy Tree]

And that's a natural law. Dem bones dem bones need calcium

 

[porp]

I'm not one to sneer at American things for the sake of it. But the concept of the "stick" of butter is just so wrong. And you'd assume that the US would go for bigger more abundant measures of butter. But no, the stick is the thing.

 

[Epona]

I'm not one to sneer at American things for the sake of it. But the concept of the "stick" of butter is just so wrong. And you'd assume that the US would go for bigger more abundant measures of butter. But no, the stick is the thing.

It's one of those things where you really have to do conversions when baking, because a US stick of butter is around 113g, or just under half of a standard UK pack of butter (at least those that haven't been shrinkflated recently, Anchor and Country Life I am looking at you).

 

[Monte]

See also coffee, which has jumped about crazily in the last two years in terms of both price and size. For whatever reason the standard size used to be 227g (huh?). Now I find that some brands offer 200g, but others are 227g or even 250g. Stop trying to cheat us.

227gms is 8oz.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Except when in Ireland

This is our Irish pick.