Yes, I know. That title could be seriously taken out of context, and yes, I was scarred mentally by seeing Last Tango in Paris in High School, but in this case, I mean that statement as 100% literal. This is a blog post about butter. It might be my most trivial post ever – and it’s got lots of competition for that title.
Butter is nature’s perfect cooking material, it adds flavor from everything from a bacon sandwich to french onion soup… and don’t even try making a butterscotch pie with margarine!
I may love butter, but I’ve taken butter for granted until recently. Less than a year ago, Costco started carrying Kerrygold cheeses from Ireland. They’ve got a couple of subtle but tasty cheeses, especially Dubliner and Blarney Castle. I’m partial to them, and the kids can eat them by the block… which is good because I’d much prefer them to learn to enjoy “real†cheeses rather than processed American cheese.
One day, Costco had Kerrygold Butter, so on a lark I purchased some. It was very good, obviously made from happy cows munching all that green grass in Ireland. I did comparison taste tests between the Irish butter and the standard Costco butter. What I noticed was that the butter tasted basically the same, but without a certain harsh, almost chemical edge. It tasted higher more natural. Since then, we usually use the Irish butter for instances where the buttery flavor needs to shine, but I keep plenty of the “cheap stuff†on hand for cooking bacon and such.
So I mentioned we went to Fresh & Easy the other day, didn’t I? Yes. I’m sure I did. Most of their merchandise is Fresh & Easy branded, but, I was surprised that they carried the Irish butter and more. They also had Lurpak Danish butter and Butter of Parma, Italian butter. We were really well-stocked on butter, but I picked up the Danish butter just to give it a try.
When I got home and I tasted the butter, there was an instant sense of Deja Vu. I was overwhelmingly reminded of Taiwan. As best as I can tell, butter isn’t a natural part of the Taiwanese diet, and their butter all seems to be imported from dairy countries, like Australia and New Zealand. My in-laws purchase Australian butter in a radio-stabalized tin which reminds me more of petroleum hand cleaners used in auto garages than a dairy products. The stuff is awful.
But if you go to a bakery and buy any rolls, breads or garlic breads there’s a unique flavor that I could never really pin down. When you fly on the plane, they give you a roll and a pat of New Zealand butter. It has the same flavor. It’s good, but the taste is unique and one I’ve never tasted in the States.
Until now. The Danish butter is it. I have no idea what the reason is, but we know how the correct butter for attempting to make the various bakery breads from Taiwan.
So, this weekend we went back to try the Italian butter. Now I’m on a world butter tour. Who knows what other great butter flavors I might find?
It’s not the Italian butter. It’s a bit like eating lard. Irene couldn’t even swallow a bite. It cooked up OK for sauteing onions, but I wouldn’t put it on toast.
Why the differences, though?
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