Jerry gave me the book “Butter,” which I just finished. He knows how much I like, I mean love, butter. Best butter ever for me: Animal Farm in Orwell, Vt, the butter Keller gets for FL and Per Se. I once talked her (owner of Animal Farm) into an order, but shipping was crazy. Next–a Belgian butter with Camargue salt crystals that Jerry introduced to me–Les Prés Salés. It is almost like cheese. Have had lots of French Normandy butters but these are my faves. What are yours?
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Not quite as rarified but very good is Nordic Creamery. I buy as my regular butter from our farmer’s market - and love when the first batch of summer butter is released each year:
Alan-Have you ever tried to make your own?
It was a revelation for me how easy it is and how good the results can be.
You can control salt levels, etc.
Fun project I do several times per year.
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Don’t you need excellent milk to make excellent butter?
the book explains a lot of butter making nuances, but I haven’t made my own–yet.
Bordier, from St. Malo, Brittany. It is served in many of the great restaurants in France. Available in select markets in Paris, too. When in Paris, my daily breakfast is Bordier Beurre Demi-Sel on bread from Polâine, Du Pain et Des Idées, or La Pointe du Grouin.
Country crock
Vermont Creamery’s unsalted butter is good.
I was just going to post the same thought. It is the best butter I can find that is widely available in U.S. grocery stores. The creme fraiche is very good, too. Apparently they buy in all of the cow’s milk they use, while maintaining their own goat herd. I have yet to see their goat cheese.
Their cheeses are fantastic, goat and otherwise. I need to see if we can get their butter.
Spent a few days in St Malo. Lovely town. And. Better butter.
Local high fat salted butter from Hope Creamery.
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I would think so. Certainly if I were to try and make it at home I’d want to use better milk than can be found at my local grocery store.
For those who haven’t tried it we’ve mostly converted to goat butter for our non-baking needs. We get ours at Wine Library, I don’t recall the brand name offhand.
Rodolphe Le Meunier’s Beurre de Barratte is the best most readily available butter that I’ve found in and around LA (it’s the upcharge butter served at Republique). Also very good is the homemade butter from Lodge Bread in Culver City. I’ll keep an eye out for Les Prés Salés; its wrapper looks familiar.
A couple of years ago, I bought some Animal Farm Butter from Saxelby Cheesemongers during the very short period when they had it for sale. $36 to ship two pounds overnight to LA.
Kate’s…Kate's Butter | Maine Homemade Butter | Grass-Fed Dairy Great unsalted butter; perfect match for lobsters…and for baking
And, they make one of the very few commercially available “REAL” buttermilk…which I always have in my fridge for marinades, baking, etc.
I shipped 5 lbs for more than $50. How’d you like it?
It’s very good. I ordered because the bread and butter with salts at French Laundry is so good. I’m not sure I like it better than Le Meunier’s Beurre de Baratte, which I can pick up locally for $12/250grams, but I’ve not tasted them side by side. I get the butter geek thing though, as you can probably tell from the photo above (a 5 kilo mound of Bordier demi-sel on the counter at L’Avant Comptoir). How does Les Prés Salés compare to Animal Farm, aside from being salted?
Animal Farm was a decade ago; from memory it was a bit more cheesy. For the price, Les Prés Salés wins.
I tried making my own last night from scratch and it was much easier than I thought it would be. Plus, I can add my own salt and herbs easily.