# What is the difference (butter)?



## passioncook (Mar 24, 2008)

Does anyone know if there is a difference between, say Land O Lakes butter and lets say the store brand butter.  I'm talking about the 1lb. butter in the box - salted or unsalted.  As I'm sure everyone knows, Land O Lakes is considerably more expensive than the store brand.  

We've always bought the store brand (and stocked up when it's on sale and froze it).  This weekend, I made a cake for Easter that suggested the use of a "premium, high quality butter", so for the fun of it I bought the Land O Lakes unsalted.  I'm a sucker for name brands, so I'm sure I was imagining it being a tad more creamy than the store brands.  

So, anyone with experience on this?  DH says butter is butter.....right?


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 24, 2008)

I actually grew up one town over from a Land O Lakes factory. Honestly I do think it is a better butter, but most times we buy the cheapest one for everyday use and Land O Lakes for baking. DW also prefers to use it over the others in baking.


----------



## babetoo (Mar 24, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> I actually grew up one town over from a Land O Lakes factory. Honestly I do think it is a better butter, but most times we buy the cheapest one for everyday use and Land O Lakes for baking. DW also prefers to use it over the others in baking.


 

i think cheapest one is just as good. with land o lakes with  other expensive brands , we are just paying for their advertising.

babe


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 24, 2008)

LoL butter is grade AA butter.  If the store brand is also grade AA, any differences should be minimal if any.  The US govt. dictates minimum fat content (80%) for butter in the US.  All brands will meet that requirement.

We buy butter in quantity from Costco.  It costs less than $2.00 a pound and is just as good as LoL.  

LoL is more expensive because of it's highly recognizable national brand name.


----------



## Angie (Mar 24, 2008)

I'll tell you what...I had the best butter ever at the Bellagio in Vegas on our honeymoon.  Funny...it's our honeymoon and one of the key points I remember is the butter!


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 24, 2008)

I am sorry to disagree ... all butter is not created equal.  That's like assuming all syrup of the same grade is the same.  Or cheese.  Chocolate?  COFFEE?  Wine?  

That's not to say that the store brand can't be an excellent product.  But I do think that LOL butter is a more consistent quality product.   I also know that LOL farmers are held to certain standards, but I cannot speak for other brands.  I cannot afford it on a daily basis myself, but I use LOL for a special recipe or for a special event.  

And yes, they do have a big advertising budget and you can bet your dairy farmers pay for it.  I have a coworker who has a LOL farm.  I have another acquaintance who owns an Organic Valley farm, and that too was especially flavorful.  I have heard that Amish butter is heavenly beyond measure, but I haven't had occasion to try it yet.  

Cooks Illustrated had an excellent review of butters.  I will see if I can find it to share.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 24, 2008)

Um.... you remember the butter???!!!



And I am still sticking by my Land O Lakes, the fat content may be the same but the processing isn't always equal... there is also a difference in taste (for me) depending on the _source_. 
The same goes for milk for me, none of the milks out here (generic to name brand) compares to the milk I had back home growing up (Blue Bunny). Even now when I go home I can taste the difference. I even proved  it to DW last time I made a trip to Iowa by getting her some Blue Bunny ice cream, now she looks for it everywhere out here hoping to be able to get some. She was also able to taste the difference in their milk. Oberwiese milk is really really good, but I can't afford their prices!


----------



## Katie H (Mar 24, 2008)

I  stocked  up  on butter last week because  Wal-Mart here had it for $1.50 per pound.  Bought  both salted and unsalted.

The only difference I see among  the different brands of butter is the saltiness of salted butter.

Recently I bought some house brand salted butter from a store I'd never tried.  I was amazed at how ultra-salty the butter was compared to  Wal-Mart or Kroger's salted butter.  I didn't like and I won't  buy  it again.


----------



## Angie (Mar 24, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> Um.... you remember the butter???!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Blue Bunny can't be found in IL???


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 24, 2008)

Not readily here in Chicago yet, don't know why. We have, on occasion, found Blue Bunny ice cream, but they don't seem to carry it on a regular basis. But not the milk anywhere that we have found.


----------



## Katie H (Mar 24, 2008)

Angie said:


> I'll tell you what...I had the best butter ever at the Bellagio in Vegas on our honeymoon.  Funny...it's our honeymoon and one of the key points I remember is the butter!



The  butter  was probably  memorable because  of what it  was ON.   It was your honeymoon  after all.


----------



## Angie (Mar 24, 2008)

Katie E said:


> The butter was probably memorable because of what it was ON. It was your honeymoon after all.


 
ummm....no comment...


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 24, 2008)

Katie E said:


> The  butter  was probably  memorable because  of what it  was ON.   It was your honeymoon  after all.





And I get reminded that this is a G-Rated site??? 

Just no one bring up differences in name brand and generic whipped cream!


----------



## Katie H (Mar 24, 2008)

Sorry...it was there!


----------



## Fisher's Mom (Mar 24, 2008)

You just _know_ we were all thinking it!


----------



## Katie H (Mar 24, 2008)

Thinking  what?  I was merely referring to  the  delicious pastries  at Bellagio.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 24, 2008)

And if you believe _that_ I got this bridge in the desert I need to unload...


----------



## passioncook (Mar 24, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> Not readily here in Chicago yet, don't know why. We have, on occasion, found Blue Bunny ice cream, but they don't seem to carry it on a regular basis. But not the milk anywhere that we have found.


 
Funny you mentioned BB - I grew up on it too in Missouri and it's still widely available where I live now in MO.  Some people go crazy over their ice cream, I could take it or leave it.  But I will agree with you on the milk, it just is better.  You'd think IL would have it since it at least close to IA!  There is a local dairy where I live and the milk is far superior than like Wal-Mart's store brand, or any store brand for that matter.  It just tastes stale to me.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 24, 2008)

AMSeccia said:


> I am sorry to disagree ... all butter is not created equal. That's like assuming all syrup of the same grade is the same. Or cheese. Chocolate? COFFEE? Wine? ...



No reason to be sorry about disagreement.  Happens all the time

As I said earlier, there may be slight differences in taste, but the butters will meat quality standards to acheive the AA ratings.

I think you are way off base bringing wine, coffee and cheese into the discussion.  Apples and oranges.


----------



## Dave Hutchins (Mar 25, 2008)

I worked for the Iowa Coop and they still produce Prize of Iowa Grade AA butter
It is far better than LOL Hard to find but woth the effort


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 25, 2008)

Different cow varieties produce different tasting milk.  Also, the food they eat affects the flavor.  Cattle that have eaten a significant portion of alfalfa in their diet produce milk that has an "off" flavor reminiscent of vitamin pills.  Cattle that eat primarily sweet hay have a sweeter flavored milk.

Depending on the time of year, and the food available, milk varies from one batch to another, depending on what the animals are eating.

Land O' Lakes is the company that first made sweet butter, that is, butter that was made from sweet rather than cultured cream.  The sought after flavor of European style butters comes from cultured cream rather than sweet cream, and has a slight sour componant in the flavor profile.  LOL is famous because they were the first to make and package sweet butter that didn't sour or go rancid quickly.  The addition of salt to butter is to inhibit the growth of organisms that would otherwise sour the butter (the cream solids and lactose in the butter feed the critters).  The airtight packaging and processing in a virtually sterile environment is what allows American butters to be sold as sweet butters.

LOL has a consistant product, batch after batch.  That, and their name is what commands the higher price.

It's like purchasing generic cheddar versus Kraft Cheddar.  Now the Kraft cheddar is not nearly as good as that produced by an artisan cheese maker, but is consistantly better than is generic cheddar.  And it has been consistant for my lifetime of 52 years.  Of course it's advertising budgett has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the price we pay for Kraft quality.  The same is true of LOL butter.  It's not the best on the market, but is consistantly good, batch after batch.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## suziquzie (Mar 25, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> Not readily here in Chicago yet, don't know why. We have, on occasion, found Blue Bunny ice cream, but they don't seem to carry it on a regular basis. But not the milk anywhere that we have found.


 
Thats funny, maybe the blue bunny has disappeared...
When I was little my grandma lived in southern IL and blue bunny was all we could find when we visited!


----------



## pacanis (Mar 25, 2008)

I've only bought LoL butter, as did my parents (maybe that is why it transferred to me). I try to buy it on sale now and freeze it. 
I have boughten their margarine in the past, but the store near me doesn't sell it, so I tried a couple other name brands. They had a lower burning point when cooking with it. 
Since then I have stopped buying margarine and buy LoL's spreadable butter for my toast or bread. It has a taste I prefer over a couple of the other name brands that I tried.
I think it's a better product in the two categories I can tell and will keep buying their butter.

And I thought the cheese comparison was a good one AMS, like Goodweed pointed out. You take a simple/plain cheese for comparison, like the cheddar or I was thinking yellow American, and there is a world of difference in taste and texture between the no name brands the store regularly has on sale and a name brand cheese, which is consistantly good.


----------



## Angie (Mar 25, 2008)

Dave Hutchins said:


> I worked for the Iowa Coop and they still produce Prize of Iowa Grade AA butter
> It is far better than LOL Hard to find but woth the effort


 
Hmmm..if this is packaged in a yellow box with blue type, then I have had it often.  Hy-Vee carries it.  I'll have to check it out!


----------



## LadyCook61 (Mar 25, 2008)

I have noticed diffrences in butter, especially the store brand .  I want to try Sam's club butter, it is suppose to be good.


----------



## PanchoHambre (Mar 25, 2008)

try kerrygold.....  that's good butter.

I also like to buy farmers market butter (amish here) when I have the chance.  

I dont have any problem with the store brands though... as long as it is actual butter...


----------



## SixSix210 (Mar 25, 2008)

It's kind of hard to mess up two ingredients... the salted may have a bit of difference, but nothing really noticable rnough for me to pay the extra cash.  I use way way WAAAAY too much buter every week to justify spending the extra cash.


----------



## sparrowgrass (Mar 25, 2008)

I can tell a difference between generic butter and LOL or Cabot.  I like Cabot best.

Someday, I am going to find some of that fancy European or Irish butter, but I don't think it has made it to my part of Missouri yet.


----------



## kitchenelf (Mar 25, 2008)

I always buy unsalted.  I bought Land O' Lakes for years and years.  I finally decided to try the store brand - it was MUCH better - had more flavor.  LoL is basically flavorless and I didn't even know it! Now, the European butters are waaaaaaaaay better but they are higher in butter fat with GREAT flavor.  But for everyday butter - it is now the store brand.


----------



## Adillo303 (Mar 25, 2008)

I buy the lol and the sale brand. Around here (Jersey) Cabot is much different in color. Don't know why.


----------



## ljmyers (Mar 25, 2008)

I use lol, kroger brand and walmart brand. I stock up on any of these when they are on sale and really do not find enough of a difference to make a difference.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 25, 2008)

Interesting stuff. Seems like a lot of it just boils down to taste preference and for some of us what we grew up with and became accustomed to.
I too would like to try some of the European butters as well as Amish butter. Blue Bunny is readily available in most rural parts of IL, just not Chicago making me think they somehow can't break into the market here steadily.


----------



## Caine (Mar 25, 2008)

Angie said:


> I'll tell you what...I had the best butter ever at the Bellagio in Vegas on our honeymoon. Funny...it's our honeymoon and one of the key points I remember is the butter!


Did you ever see Last Tango in Paris?


----------



## Caine (Mar 25, 2008)

Katie E said:


> The only difference I see among the different brands of butter is the saltiness of salted butter.


Considering a pound of salted butter contains approxiametely 1/8 teaspoon of salt, if you can taste the difference between salted and unsalted butter, you should consider a career in wine tasting.


----------



## Katie H (Mar 25, 2008)

Caine said:


> Considering a pound of salted butter contains approximately 1/8 teaspoon of salt, if you can taste the difference between salted and unsalted butter, you should consider a career in wine tasting.



Yep, Caine, I can most definitely tell the difference between salted and unsalted butter.   And, as it  turns  out,  I recently discovered I can tell the difference in saltiness between different brands of salted butter.

As for the wine tasting career, where  I live I would probably starve.  I live in a "dry" area.  No alcohol.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 25, 2008)

According to the Land O Lakes website, there are 95 mg of sodium in a tablespoon of salted butter.  That works out to 3,040 mg of sodium in a pound of butter. (95 mg x 32 Tb in a Lb.)

There are 2,300 mg of sodium in a teaspoon salt so, doing the math, there are 1.32 teaspoons of salt in a pound of butter, not 0.125 tsp.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 25, 2008)

I am not a huge fan of salt in most cases, but DW insists on buying salted butter. I told her why it is salted, and she said that was interesting to know, so apparently her insisting on buying salted butter was based solely on taste.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 25, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> ...her insisting on buying salted butter was based solely on taste.


 

That's why butter is salted.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 25, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> That's why butter is salted.



That's not the only reason:
The addition of salt to butter is to inhibit the growth of organisms that would otherwise sour the butter.. to quote Goodweed.


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 25, 2008)

Actually, the reason butter is salted (and the reason many times unsalted butter carries a higher price) is that the salt is a preservative and extends shelf life.  My friend used to work for the WI dairy council and I asked this question years ago.

I didn't mean to imply that we never buy the store brand ... but where affordable or special occasions, I do think premium butter is worth the splurge.  

Someone mentioned Sam's Club butter ... our Sam's carries Mid America Farms, which I don't think is a Sam Walton proprietary brand.  They do have another product in full pound blocks, but that would be a mess with my family.  It is usually no less expensive than a local dairy butter around here, so I go for what is affordable at the time.

As for Blue Bunny, I have not seen their milk or butter, but their sour cream and chip dip are worth the extra 50 cents.  Believe it or not, only Walmart carries it here!


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 25, 2008)

Maverick, we must have posted just seconds apart.  I don't mean for my post to sound like I'm correcting you, I agree ... salt prevents spoilage, yep!


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 25, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> That's not the only reason:
> The addition of salt to butter is to inhibit the growth of organisms that would otherwise sour the butter.. to quote Goodweed.


 

I would agree that was the case a hundred years ago.  

However, with today's modern refrigeration and transportation methods, that is no longer an issue.  The salt continues to be added to reproduce the taste everyone had become familiar with.

In today's world, large quantities of fresh cream are deliveded directly from the farm in refrigerated trucks the the butter plant.  There it is very quickly put intot he manufacturing process.  At some point in the process, salt is added to some of the cream/butter and some continues unsalted.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 25, 2008)

LOL we were thinking the same thing!


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 25, 2008)

Yes Andy, I'm sure the dairy council is mistaken.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 25, 2008)

AMSeccia said:


> Yes Andy, I'm sure the dairy council is mistaken.


 

The Dairy Council may have been considering the historical perspective with their answer.

Do you suppose they make unsalted butter because they don't care of it spoils?

My point is that modern methods obviate the need for salt as a preservative.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 25, 2008)

That and I still know many people that do not refrigerate their butter but leave it in a butter dish on the table. Ask them and they will tell you that is the way the prefer it, and why they buy salted.
Myself I always refrigerate my butter, the idea of leaving it out just doesn't appeal to me at all!
But, I am sure there are many today that do buy salted or unsalted based solely on preference of taste so I can see where Andy is coming from here.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 25, 2008)

Maverick2272 said:


> That and I still know many people that do not refrigerate their butter but leave it in a butter dish on the table. Ask them and they will tell you that is the way the prefer it, and why they buy salted.
> Myself I always refrigerate my butter, the idea of leaving it out just doesn't appeal to me at all!
> But, I am sure there are many today that do buy salted or unsalted based solely on preference of taste so I can see where Andy is coming from here.


 

I also cannot get used to the idea of leaving butter out at room temperature all the time.  It seems counter intuitive.


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 25, 2008)

I do understand your point, thank you, but I just can't agree (sorry).  I've had butter past its prime and IMHO the preservative logic has some merit.  For one thing, smaller independent markets can't move product like their larger competitors, and things do spoil (and take on off flavors from storage).  Those open shelving units are handy for shoppers, but aren't optimal preservation units.  My late FIL had a small town store, and while bread and chip vendors come in and rotate product for stores, that is not generally the case with dairy (to my knowledge).  

That said, I actually tyr to buy unsalted butter and freeze it.  Go figure!  

General Butter Info


----------



## bethzaring (Mar 26, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> LoL butter is grade AA butter. If the store brand is also grade AA, any differences should be minimal if any. The US govt. dictates minimum fat content (80%) for butter in the US. All brands will meet that requirement.
> 
> We buy butter in quantity from Costco. It costs less than $2.00 a pound and is just as good as LoL.
> 
> LoL is more expensive because of it's highly recognizable national brand name.


 
This is my understanding from my food science class.  Just look for grade AA and "made from sweet cream".


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 26, 2008)

I agree that salt has preservative powers.  Also that some markets may have butter hanging around longer than it should in less than optimal conditions.  We've both seen it.

Thanks for the link.


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 26, 2008)

I do have to say this has me curious to try the European butter.


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 26, 2008)

me too ... if I get to Milwaukee this weekend, I'm going to try and pick some up at Whole Foods.  I thought I saw a French brand there last time I looked.  I'll have to do that in lieu of lunch, as I thought it was like $7/lb!!!


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 26, 2008)

Wow, that is a lot! But I was thinking the same thing, a quick trip to Whole Foods to check it out.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 26, 2008)

We vacation in Aruba each winter and buy groceries for our timeshare.  The supermarkets there have a selection of European butters that are the same price as the butter they sell from the US.  It is delicious.


----------



## AllenOK (Mar 28, 2008)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Different cow varieties produce different tasting milk.  Also, the food they eat affects the flavor.  Cattle that have eaten a significant portion of alfalfa in their diet produce milk that has an "off" flavor reminiscent of vitamin pills.  Cattle that eat primarily sweet hay have a sweeter flavored milk.
> 
> Depending on the time of year, and the food available, milk varies from one batch to another, depending on what the animals are eating.



I don't remember if I've mentioned this here before, so here goes.

Many, many, years ago, I used to work for an ice cream / dairy / burger chain here in OK called Braum's.  Those members in OK, northern TX, western AR, southwestern MO, and southern KS will know the company I'm talking about.

Supposedly, as I was told many years ago, they have the largest private dairy herd in the country.  Holstein cattle.

The milk produced by the cows gets used for ALL dairy products.  Milk, butter, sour cream, yogurt, ice cream, frozen yogurt, etc.  The cream that's skimmed from the whole milk gets used for butter, whipping cream, canned whipped cream, etc.

Many years ago, the small lake on the farm, the only water source for that herd, "turned over".  That is, for some oddball reason, water from the bottom levels of the lake moved to the top.  The rush of nutrients caused an algae bloom in the lake, which in turn, affected the taste of the water.  The cows drank that water.  The result: The resulting milk tasted like pond water. BLECK!  I know, because I tasted some of the stuff.  For over a month, customers were bringing back milk because it "tasted funny".  I was all to happy to refund their money.

Eventually, the water purity was restored, and the milk quality returned to normal.


----------



## Andy M. (Mar 28, 2008)

Interesting story.  It certainly proves the point.


----------



## AMSeccia (Mar 28, 2008)

Ick ... I guess we really are what we eat!


----------



## Maverick2272 (Mar 28, 2008)

Lakes turn over due to temperature changes. The lakes where I grew up did it every year, yuck! But it doesn't take long for it to sort itself out and return to normal. I never heard of it happening in a small pond or tiny lake though.


----------

