If you spend any time in the butter section of the dairy case, you must wonder how a company can charge more for two sticks of butter (8 oz.) than another charges for four (16 oz.).
Those prices aren’t even close. And wrapping butter in gold or silver foil can’t account for a price difference of 100%.
You might also notice that some of the pricier butter is called “Irish.”
Some butter is salted, while others are unsalted.
Let’s explore butter’s ingredients and what might affect the price.
What’s in Butter
Butter is made from churned cream.
In turn, cream is composed of milkfat in an emulsion of water. The amount of water in which the fat is suspended will determine how rich (heavy) the cream is.
So when you read the ingredients on the butter package, you will see: cream.
You will see salt if it is salted butter.
You may see lactic acid listed as an ingredient in some butter brands. Lactic acid many be added as a preservative and/or natural flavor.
That really doesn’t tell you much about the butter because what you are paying for shouldn’t be the water; it should be the percentage of fat in the cream.
Generally, the higher the fat percentage, the higher the price.
But how do you know the butterfat percentage in the package you are buying?
Doing the Math
Calculating the butterfat percentage in a particular package of butter is simple.
Divide the total fat grams in one serving by the grams in one serving, then multiply the result by 100.
Your answer is the butterfat percentage.
For example, the total fat grams in one serving of our store-brand salted butter are 11g. The grams in one serving are 14g.
11 / 14 = 0.76 x 100 = 79% (rounded)
American butter must contain at least 80% butterfat to be sold as butter.
So is this “legit” butter?
The answer is yes. FDA rules require the nutrition label grams to be rounded down if less than 11.5; at 11.2, the butter would be 80% butterfat.
Higher Butterfat Brands
We have a local dairy that sells high-end butter. Does the price reflect the fat content?
Let’s do the math:
Total fat 12 g / 14 g per one serving x 100 = 86% butterfat (rounded)
We know by the FDA rules that this butter is at least 82% butterfat, because 11.5g can be listed as 12g on the nutrition label.
Similarly, unsalted “Irish” butter is 82% butterfat (12g total fat per serving), as are many butters from Europe.
Be careful, though. The same “Irish” brand sells salted butter that contains 11g total fat per 14g serving.
That means it could contain as low as 80% butterfat, the same as the store brand.
Understanding the Spread
Okay, you like to cook. You don’t want to do all the math.
Does the butterfat content make a difference?
If you are serving butter at the table, it’s really about the taste. And taste is a matter of taste, right?
Personally, I like the high-fat butter. It tastes (and probably is) fresher and often is from grassfed cows. Many high-end butters will state this right on the package.
But like many things, saving the best for “special occasions” is what makes those occasions special.
Whether the flavor justifies the price is something you need to decide.
Cooking
Many professional chefs opt for high-butterfat butters to produce richer tasting sauces and recipes.
Baking is another matter.
Some chefs say that moisture content (i.e., less butterfat) will result in fluffier and flakier baked goods; others say the opposite!
But almost universally, all use unsalted butter.
Salt is an ingredient that chemically affects baking. By using unsalted butter, you control the amount of salt that is added to the mixture.
This is a way to ensure consistency in flavor and texture.
What It’s Worth
In the end, you will decide which circumstances justify spending the big bucks on high-butterfat butter.
Now, you can make that decision as a well-informed consumer.
