Top 8: Posh butter tried and tasted
Ingredients: Butter Isolated on White Background
BUTTER put Ireland’s food culture on the world map in 1962 when as CEO of An Bord Bainne, Sir Anthony O'Reilly created the Kerrygold brand and marketed it extensively. It remains a top seller and has plenty to recommend it.
The reputation of Irish butter has been sustained down through the decades due to the rich, green, summer pastures on which the cows graze. The discerning may be able to distinguish where the milk from their butter comes from. Often quoted, the late Myrtle Allen said: “that field always made good butter”.
In , John and Sally McKenna’s latest book with The National Dairy Council, we get instructions on how to make our own butter by beating cream and pouring off the excess liquid – useful with cream that may be on the turn. Add herbs and spices to pep up fillets of fish, meat, vegetables, soups.
This week we are looking at producers of flavoursome country and cultured butters achieved by the slow pace of churning, some fermentation, and the individuality best known to wine lovers as ‘terroir’, that blend of influences of soil and climate on the grass. Health-wise, butter, as a pure, simple product, has good fatty acids, beta-carotene, and thankfully doesn’t have to travel far to reach our shelves.
For the first time, we gave full marks to three producers.
Just launched, this richly flavoured butter is made, Italian style, from a waste-saving exercise of using the cream skimmed off in the making of its mozzarella cheese.
The added benefit to the rich, deep flavour is the gut-friendly cultures from the cheese which, like yogurt, can aid digestion. With 1.5% sea salt, the natural flavour is well balanced.
Added to winter soups and stews, we wanted to eat it by the spoonful. At The Real Olive and online at toonsbridgedairy.com
10
This lightly salted butter has just 0.59% salt, yet has enough to offset the full, creamy, rich flavour from rich pastures and slow churning.
While we based our marks on the salted one, the dark brown, sweet black garlic and the salty dulse versions can add flavour to dishes.
A superb product.
Made in Co Down, I bought in Menloe Stores, Blackrock Road, Cork.
See abernethy.com for mail order and other outlets.
10
Alan and Valerie Kingston have produced superb yogurt on their farm in Drimoleague, since 1987.
This butter doesn’t disappoint.
Slowly churning their summer milk (therefore from grass-fed cows) 2% sea salt flakes added underlines a particularly rich depth of flavour in this delicious butter.
Bring back the simple bread and butter sandwich.
Widely available.
10
We tasted the salted version with 1.8% salt which is beautifully balanced with a creaminess of rich summer milk.
Not connected to the abbey, the milk comes from farmers in the Limerick/Tipperary area and is produced by Arrabawn Co Op.
Glenstal Foods is a dairy company involved in the production and selling of Irish dairy products.
Closest in price to regular Kerrygold butter (€9.21/kg).
9.5
Deliciously crunchy sea salt crystals from the Guérande region of Brittany is added to fine salt for a high 2.8% which is not overpowering.
Isigny farms are known for their coastal influences and the butter is creamy and moderately rich. Perfect to melt on vegetables.
8.5
The 1.8% salt addition is not crunchy, but adds to a rich, creamy blend of milk from Friesian and Jersey cows on Kevin and Liz O’Donovan’s family farm in Dunmanway.
They started the dairy in 2016 to produce rich un-homogenised milk and double cream. This is an excellent addition to their offerings.
From Neighbourfood, Bradleys, Cork, and others.
8.5
With 2.5% salt, including crunchy sea salt crystals, this is a creamy blend of milk that is not quite as rich and complex as other samples, but still delicious.
In 2000, North Connacht Farmers’ Co-operative Society was renamed Connacht Gold and its extensive range of decent quality products is widely available in supermarkets.
8
Our second non-Irish product comes from goats' milk and was worth the journey from Cheshire, England.
Salt at 1% provides a good balance to the creamy richness without any of the expected goaty acidic hit.
This will easily satisfy those who favour goat over cow’s produce.
From The Good Food Shop, English market, Cork.
8.5
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