“Remember when butter was considered bad?” said Morwenna Ferrier in The Guardian. Now, though, there’s been a revival of the golden spread. In our “little treat” economy, splashing out on a slab of high-end butter feels “more manageable” than buying a “decent bottle of wine”.
After consumption reached a “historic low” in the 1990s following a spate of anti-saturated fat health campaigns, perceptions seem to have “shifted” and butter has enjoyed a “cultural rehabilitation”. This may in part be because it’s become “tangled up with the anti-ultra-processed-food movement” – unlike margarine, butter is seen as a “pre-industrial, farm-adjacent product”.
The spread is “reprising its role as a kitchen stalwart” with sales of Waitrose’s Essential butter up 16% year-on-year, said Emma Henderson in The Independent.
These days it’s “rare to find a block of butter” for under £2. As prices continue to climb, it’s worth knowing which brands are “worth their salt”. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference West Country Farmhouse butter is something “I just kept going back to”. Made in Somerset using a slower churning process, it’s “very bright yellow” and has a “great level of salty flavour” thanks to the addition of Maldon sea salt.
“I will never tire of” President Slightly Salted butter, said Sophie Morris in The i Paper. Perfect for slathering on your morning toast, this French butter made in Normandy always seems “chic next to its frumpier, yellower, British cousins”. As well as the “elegance” of its paler hue, “I love the fact it tastes as if the cows have dined on wildflower meadows”.
And if you’re keen to show off, grab a block of Kerrygold salted butter. Made from the milk of grass-fed cows in Ireland and wrapped in gold foil, it’s a “rich and creamy treat” that’s ideal for cutting into thick slices and using to top your “hot crumpets, teacakes and hot cross buns”.