Butter just like in the Old Country

[Fat Guy]

A few days ago I got an e-mail from a publicist asking if I'd like some information about and samples of some specialty butters from Cabot. I said “sure” and promptly forgot about it.

Today, the FedEx guy showed up with four pounds of butter in an insulated cooler lined with foam refrigerant packs.

At that point, I started to focus on the issue. First I went back and tried to figure out why four pounds of butter had arrived. Then I tried to track down the press materials I had been sent. I couldn't really figure either thing out, but I had a stale bagel left from the day before so I decided to toast it and eat some butter.

There were two pounds each of two kinds of butter. I decided quite arbitrarily that the best way to taste the butter would be at a warm but not melted temperature, so I toasted the bagel lightly and spread it with a thick enough coating of butter such that the butter would soften considerably but not melt. I spread almost all of each half with one of the two types of butter. I also decided, as a control sample, that I'd put some Land O' Lakes butter from the fridge (Land O' Lakes is considered by many to be the best normal supermarket butter) on a small portion of the bagel that I had set aside. Not that this was a particularly scientific experiment.

So, anyway, I tasted the first butter, “ Cabot 83.” This is advertised as a high fat European style butter. I tasted it. It was good. But it didn't blow me away or anything. I had until that moment been fantasizing that this was going to be butter that would take me back to the Old Country. Then again in the Old Country my ancestors were too poor to afford butter and too busy getting killed by antisemites to worry about such things. But at least maybe, I thought, it would taste like the butter in good restaurants in Europe today. Not so. It tasted like American butter but with more fat. I'll get back to this later.

I then took a bite of the Land O' Lakes sample, which did bring the Cabot 83 (the 83 refers to the percentage of solids as opposed to water; 83 is substantially higher than the American norm and even a bit higher than the European norm) somewhat into contrast: the Cabot 83 was definitely richer. It also had a “cleaner” taste but I attribute that to its freshness (air shipped from the cow to me) versus the weeks-old Land 'O Lakes (trucked in to a supermarket from Plant Number 555 and sharing my refrigerator's butter compartment with my wife's nail polish).

So then I took a taste of the other butter: “Cabot Old Fashioned Whey Cream Butter.”

Oh . . . my . . . God . . .

I was back in the Old Country! But instead of antisemites I was surrounded by buttered French women in a Michelin three-star day spa! Butter that tastes like butter used to taste, even though I wasn't alive when it tasted that way!

Whatever you were saving money for, forget about it. Divert your resources to ordering some of this stuff from Cabot. It will be the best, and probably only, $33.79 you've ever spent on butter. (For that amount plus shipping you get 8 pounds of butter; four of each of the two types I've mentioned.)

Eventually I achieved the proper state of motivation whereby I found the press release that the publicist – Brenda – had originally sent me. Here's the deal with the whey butter:

“For more than half a century, Cabot has been taking the whey from its cheesemaking and separating out any remaining cream to churn into a very special butter. Cabot Old Fashioned Whey Cream butter, which has over 80% butterfat, also has a slightly darker color and a hint of a cultured flavor.”

Okay, so something about this cream that they extract from the whey gives this butter the most remarkable flavor. It's not the sour flavor of cultured butter – this butter isn't actually cultured. Don't get me wrong, I like cultured butter. Until today I'd have said cultured butter is categorically superior to sweet uncultured butter. But today I learned that whey cream butter stands on an even higher rung of the butter ladder than cultured.

Then I read up on the Cabot 83, because I was trying to figure out why Cabot sent it to me.

“With a richer, more full-bodied taste, Cabot 83 butter is an unsalted butter with 83% butterfat content, higher than either the U.S. norm of 80% or the European standard of 82%. The higher butterfat content of Cabot 83 translates to lower moisture, resulting in better melting and sautéing characteristics, as well as superior performance in stabilizing sauces, clarifying butter and creating delicate desserts.”

Aha. So the deal with the Cabot 83 is that it's not “eatin' butter” but rather “cookin' butter.” So I will have to try the Cabot 83 again, but in some sort of culinary application rather than just spread on bread.

http://store.cabotcheese.com/#butter

Go!

[bloviatrix]

Do you have any idea whether they'll make these butters available via the usual retail channels?

[Fat Guy]

This is all I know:

"Through January, Cabot Creamery is making its Cabot 83 and Cabot Old Fashioned Whey Cream butters available by mail order for the holiday cooking and baking season. Previously, a trip to the Green Mountain State to visit the Cabot Visitors’ Center or the Cabot Annex store was the best bet for finding these small batch butters. Now, these delicious, higher butterfat butters can be conveniently ordered by calling toll-free: 1-800-639-3198."

[Susan G]

Thanks for the tip FG! Now that it's finally cooled off here in New Mexico I can safely order it..........though eight pounds is a generous estimate for my needs - should hold me 'til Fourth of July!

[tanabutler]

I wanna see you and Don Rocks buttered up with your individual choices and wrestle in the ring for King of the Butters.

No, seriously, I would love to taste-test the two myself. How do I get on that free-butter mailing list?

[jogoode]

http://store.cabotcheese.com/#butter

Good butter and...

Every order we receive from you (each distinct ship-to address) between September 15 and November 24, 2004, is automatically an entry in our drawing for this fabulous ring. . .  The Cabot Green Mountain Emerald consists of a 1.82 carat corner-cut faceted square natural emerald set in 18K gold. The ring also features 40 princess-cut diamonds totaling 1.18 carats. Appraised replacement value: $12,250.00

But seriously, is this $33 more than one would pay for 8 pounds of another fancy butter? Hmm, I have to figure out a way to taste this stuff.

[NulloModo]

Well, regular butter goes for around $4 a lbs at the grocery store, so, with shipping, this is only marginally higher than that. I have never bought butter in bulk however, how long will this keep in the fridge? Can I/should I freeze what I will not immediately use?

[Fat Guy]

Where I buy butter it's less than $4/pound, but I agree the base price isn't unreasonable. It's the shipping and the quantity that make it a wacky seeming expenditure.

In my experience butter freezes very well -- as well as almost anything. There's a very slight textural difference I've sometimes been able to notice in frozen-then-thawed butter, but it's no big deal.

[mjr_inthegardens]

Where I buy butter it's less than $4/pound, but I agree the base price isn't unreasonable. It's the shipping and the quantity that make it a wacky seeming expenditure.

In my experience butter freezes very well -- as well as almost anything. There's a very slight textural difference I've sometimes been able to notice in frozen-then-thawed butter,  but it's no big deal.

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Geographically colocated egulleteers perhaps might order together and split the order if they feel it is too much butter for one.

-mjr

[andiesenji]

I make my own cultured butter from extra heavy cream that I get locally (under the radar of the dairy board, actually) and figuring my time expenditure, and all the other things that add up in such a project, my butter costs me more than this but it is worth it to have what I consider to be a superior product.

I am going to place an order and see how it compares with mine and will also try it out on some friends without letting them know I have pulled a switch. A real "blind" taste test.

I may be able to retire the butter churn for good. It's little motor has soldiered on for many, many years because of my obsession with butter.

[andiesenji]

Order placed. Shipping to Calif. $34.00. Considering what I have paid for overnight express shipping of a couple of truffles, this is not bad.

[pyrguy]

We've been buying the regular Cabot's butter for years. So much better than Land o'Lakes. and not that much more. It also freezes well.

Now I've got to make a call and get some of the new stuff.

[fiftydollars]

I make my own cultured butter from extra heavy cream that I get locally (under the radar of the dairy board, actually) and figuring my time expenditure, and all the other things that add up in such a project, my butter costs me more than this but it is worth it to have what I consider to be a superior product. 

I am going to place an order and see how it compares with mine and will also try it out on some friends without letting them know I have pulled a switch.  A real "blind" taste test. 

I may be able to retire the butter churn for good.  It's little motor has soldiered on for many, many years because of my obsession with butter.

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I did some experiments with making and culturing my own butter. I got the idea from someone else on eGullet who said that home-made butter is by far "the best." So I thought to myself, "I like the best," and then proceeded to spend several intense days making butter in isolation using a food processor (and at times churning with the stand mixer, blender, and at one point shaking heavy cream in jar). By the time I emerged from my kitchen, several days and gallons of cream later, I had many pounds of various different butters made from every different type of cream I could find.

My testing conclusively determined, at least for me, that by making and culturing your own butter you can expend considerable effort, time, and resources and may actually yield some really good butter in really small quantities. They all turned out well. My favorite was made with cultured Berkeley Farms Manufacturing cream (BFMC), but the stuff from Strauss Farms was pretty good too. Adding 1 part Berkeley Farms Bavarian-style buttermilk to 8 parts BFMC and leaving it in a glass jar at 65 degrees for about 12 hours resulted in the most satisfactory culturing for me.

I then experimented with adding coloring using annatto seeds... but I didn't perfect the technique as the results tasted, a bit, like axiote... not bad, but not exactly great for scones. I also tried saffron, but since it isn't lipid soluble the results were quite... spotty.

Here's the site where I got some specifics:

http://webexhibits.org/butter/index.html

All this having been said, I'll be ordering some of this Cabot butter. Eff that churning my own business...

Edited November 20, 2004 by fiftydollars (log)

[edsel]

Has anyone tried both the Cabot butter and the cultured butter from these folks? I'm wondering how they compare. I bought some of the Vermont (not Cabot) Creamery butter last year at a grocery near my workplace. It was absolutely incredible. It struck a nice balance between cultured "tanginess" and mild sweet-cream taste. Also, the amount of salt in the butter was excellent - enough to bring out the buttery flavor, but significantly less than typical salted butter, which is too salty for my taste.

The store no longer carries that butter. They still stock Lurpak from Denmark (unsalted and salted) and KerryGold from Ireland. I bought a half pound each of unsalted Lurpak and KerryGold for next week. Wish I could find some of the Vermont Creamery stuff in time for Thanksgiving.

[andiesenji]

All this having been said, I'll be ordering some of this Cabot butter. Eff that churning my own business...

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It really helps when one has an actual butter churn which you can turn on and allow to do its thing for the alloted time.

It makes the job much easier.

[edsel]

Andie, that butter churn looks cool. I'd try to hunt one down, but I've got doubts about finding cream of suitable quality. It's easy to get the hyper-pasteurized stuff, but I'm not sure where to find the "under-the-radar" variety. Maybe I should start dropping hints at the local farmers' market.

I just emailed the Vermont (non-Cabot) Creamery folks to try to find a new source for their butter. If I can find some I'll try a comparison with the Cabot whey stuff.

[andiesenji]

This is my 5-gallon one

And this is the pasturizer. I also have a hand-cranked 1 gallon churn but haven't used it for a while.

[MobyP]

Steven - you should use the Cabot 83 and make up a big batch of puff-pastry - as the lower moisture content is just the ticket. It's not difficult (if you haven't already done it). If you take it to four turns, it freezes great - and you can do the final two turns upon defrosting.

[Jinmyo]

As I understand it, butter in North America must be at least 80. I can easily get Normandy cultured butter that is 82.

Would another 3 or 4 make any difference? Thanks.

Re frozen butter: It can last around six months in the freezer but the moisture content changes. It can be slightly grainy. Usually this wouldn't matter (say spread on a toasted bagel). But I think it might for baking, where measurements must be so much more precise than in general cookery.

[therese]

Has anyone tried both the Cabot butter and the cultured butter from these folks? I'm wondering how they compare.

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I'm also wondering, so if anybody does a direct comparison I'd like to hear about it. I can easily get the Vermont product here in Atlanta, and pretty much use it all the time.

I'm a butter fanatic, having grown up consuming "under the radar" dairy of all sorts from my grandparents' farm. I've still got my grandmother's butter churn (though the dasher and molds were not kept, unfortunately), and if I could lay my hands on local cream would definitely make my own butter (and real buttermilk).

[Fat Guy]

I've now eaten half a pound of this whey cream butter. I am becoming increasingly loyal to the product as the flavors imprint themselves. I had some normal butter in a restaurant and couldn't believe how inferior it was -- and I hasten to add that it was one of the better restaurants in town. I fear a may be slipping from healthy butter fanaticism into unpleasant butter snobbery. Am I destined to become one of those people who lectures others about their butter choices? This is not what I signed up for when I said it was okay to send samples.

[Safran]

I fear a may be slipping from healthy butter fanaticism into unpleasant butter snobbery. Am I destined to become one of those people who lectures others about their butter choices? This is not what I signed up for when I said it was okay to send samples.

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Fat Guy, sampling comes with its risks! Somebody has to do it...