European-style butter

European-style butter

I was asked recently about European-style butter and why I use it.  In the United States, the USDA mandates that churned butter has to have a minimum of 80% butterfat to be sold as "butter".  But European-style butter has a minimum butterfat level of 82%.   In fact, many quality producers in Europe churn out butter (no pun planned, but happily realized) that is 84% or higher.  This percentage difference sounds small but it can have a significant impact on taste and texture in many baked goods where butter is an important lead ingredient.  The difference between that 80% and 82% is water.  So by using a European-style butter you are getting more butterfat and less water into what you are making than if you use a typical American butter.  I find that European-style butters are creamier and smoother (which they should be with a higher butterfat level) and I appreciate the flavor differences as well, so I like to use them on just about everything.

Some time ago, after hearing that a specific American butter (which I won't name) was of such high quality that it was possibly being produced with an 82% butterfat level, I emailed the company to ask.  Initially they responded with an email about quality and effectiveness in cooking and so forth, but did it without answering my specific question: is your butter 80% or 82+% butterfat?  So I responded to their response and asked the question again.  This time I got back a very short email that simply stated, "Our butter is produced with 80% butterfat."

There are a handful of different European-style butters that can be found here in the US.  I prefer Plugra which I find is quite reasonably priced and is of excellent quality.  Not every store makes the choice to carry Plugra or other similar butters, so I go out of my way to visit one specific store that keeps it in stock. The early-morning cashiers know when they see me walk in the door shortly after they have opened that I will be back to the checkout lane with several blocks of my beloved European-style butter.  They have all asked about it in the past and so they knowingly smile when I set them down on the conveyor. Sometimes a fellow shopper will ask about my pile of butter blocks, and I happily tell them all about it.  I think I've converted at least a couple of them.  I hope so.