# Butter: generic vs high-end brand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765 "2012-08-07T18:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/21 "2012-08-07T20:51:28Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > For me, the most important factor is spreadability. Most butters will completely rip any bread to shreds, even thick, juicy, rich German bread. Then don’t keep it in the fridge. Use a butter dish or butter bell or whatnot. I’m surprised the Irish butters spread when cool. I’ve never encountered a butter that did not spread well unless it was at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/22 "2012-08-07T21:26:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Then don’t keep it in the fridge. Use a butter dish or butter bell or whatnot. I’m surprised the Irish butters spread when cool. I’ve never encountered a butter that did not spread well unless it was at room temperature. IME, butter goes rancid much more quickly that way. Besides, like I said, I don’t have that problem anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/23 "2012-08-07T22:39:34Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > IME, butter goes rancid much more quickly that way. Besides, like I said, I don’t have that problem anymore. Not the way we go through it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/24 "2012-08-07T22:59:04Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Not the way we go through it. Yeah, I’ve never had butter go rancid on me. Ever. Maybe I just go through it a lot faster than everyone else, but a stick shouldn’t last more than a week or two out in a butter dish. ETA: And that’s unsalted butter. Salted butter should last longer. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/25 "2012-08-08T02:50:23Z")
I’ve started buying [this stuff](http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/butter/pasture/) to smear on baguettes and the like. It really does taste different uncooked. Better will be a matter of opinion, but I like it. It is kind of _grassier_. ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/26 "2012-08-08T03:21:50Z")
From the middle of the U.S.A. here, (Aurora Colorado) I can buy Land 'o Lakes for $3.29 a pound at King Soopers, or Daily Chef brand at Sam’s Club for $1.85 a pound. With the scare mongers telling us that the drought will be pushing prices up in the near future I have 12 pounds of Daily Chef in the freezer as we speak. I usually only use it for cooking and baking and such, so I feel like I’m hedging my bets with cheap butter for about the next year. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/27 "2012-08-08T03:47:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, I’ve never had butter go rancid on me. Ever. Maybe I just go through it a lot faster than everyone else, but a stick shouldn’t last more than a week or two out in a butter dish. > > ETA: And that’s unsalted butter. Salted butter should last longer. I can taste butter going rancid. It starts as soon as it’s exposed to air, though it takes a while after that before it’s really discernable. Two weeks exposure to air and I can definitely taste the difference. But that’s in eating the butter straight, like when it’s spread on bread. Melted or cooked into a dish, and the change in flavor isn’t noticeable. This is one of those unresolvable conflicts between my wife and myself. She will keep a little scrap of butter around for a long time and I won’t use it or even cook with it because I don’t know how old it is. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/28 "2012-08-08T03:55:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I can taste butter going rancid. It starts as soon as it’s exposed to air, though it takes a while after that before it’s really discernable. Two weeks exposure to air and I can definitely taste the difference. But that’s in eating the butter straight, like when it’s spread on bread. Melted or cooked into a dish, and the change in flavor isn’t noticeable. This is one of those unresolvable conflicts between my wife and myself. She will keep a little scrap of butter around for a long time and I won’t use it or even cook with it because I don’t know how old it is. Hmm…I usually eat it straight on bread, too. I certainly notice it getting refrigerator smells and tastes if it’s not properly covered, but never noticed rancidity when kept at room temp. Part of the reason I keep it in a butter bell is because I get none of that refrigerator funk in it. Maybe I’m just not noticing the rancidity, but I really do doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/29 "2012-08-08T04:04:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Hmm…I usually eat it straight on bread, too. I certainly notice it getting refrigerator smells and tastes if it’s not properly covered, but never noticed rancidity when kept at room temp. Part of the reason I keep it in a butter bell is because I get none of that refrigerator funk in it. Maybe I’m just not noticing the rancidity, but I really do doubt it. I think I’m just sensitive to it. I don’t have a butter bell, but if the air inside has a high moisture content it might cut down on the effect. Rancidity is the result of oxidization of fats, so it does begin as soon as the butter is exposed to air. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/30 "2012-08-08T04:10:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think I’m just sensitive to it. I don’t have a butter bell, but if the air inside has a high moisture content it might cut down on the effect. Rancidity is the result of oxidization of fats, so it does begin as soon as the butter is exposed to air. Yeah, basically the butter bell seals off the amount of oxygen reaching the butter to almost nothing, so that could be the difference. While I generally go through butter in a week or two, I’ve had it for over a month in the butter bell without noticing any off flavors. I’m more sensitive to fridge flavors. Before I had a butter bell, I’d get halfway through a stick of butter, maybe, before tasting the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/31 "2012-08-08T11:19:10Z")
Two thin slices of Baguette were lightly toasted. Equal amounts of butter were applied to each. The generic was Valu(sic)Time, the challenger was Kerry Gold. The taster (my gf) was blindfolded. She balked at first about the blindfold, but this was a taste-test and I didn’t want visuals to give it away. There _were_ visual differences. We were both surprised. She IDed the butters, but couldn’t believe how difficult it was. In a cooked recipe, she admitted it would not be possible. So now we have a ton of butter in the house, as I bought Land-O-Lakes also, before finding the KerryGold. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/32 "2012-08-08T12:49:04Z")
BTW, Kerrygold is actually what I eat. It’s one of those things where it’s just not worth it (to me) buying generic. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/33 "2012-08-08T12:56:12Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > IME, butter goes rancid much more quickly that way. Besides, like I said, I don’t have that problem anymore. Just take out a half of a stick at a time. ---
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/34 "2012-08-08T13:16:51Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My gf and I share grocery purchasing responsibilities. She will not buy generic or store brands. I buy some generics (although never toilet paper or napkins). > > Anyway, I always buy generic butter, which is used primarily for cooking. She commented about this the other day so I’ve set up a taste-test. Tonight I’m buying bread and an expensive butter. We have generic butter already. > > The taste challenge involves me toasting two slices of bread and applying equal amounts of butter to each slice. She is then to identify which is which. > > Could you do it? Sure, if only because I have a 50/50 shot. ie not a good/valid test. Do what I did when I proved to someone how overrated their imagined diff’s in whiskeys are: have at least 4 or 5 smaller samples. Odds are much less likely of a lucky guess. That aside, I think there is a diff in butters, but it’s very slight. > [@Pitchmeister](#): > > For me, the most important factor is spreadability. Most butters will completely rip any bread to shreds, even thick, juicy, rich German bread. Because of that I only buy Irish butter that somehow doesn’t, and the price difference is negligible given the amount of butter you put on a piece of bread. 😕 Stick butter right out of the fridge will, but not if you let it out for awile (or micro for a few secs), or any "tub"spread. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765/35 "2012-08-08T13:33:25Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Just take out a half of a stick at a time. That is the solution. If I need half a stick I’ll unwrap it, cut it, and close the wrap tightly back over the rest. I certainly won’t put it in a butter dish and then put that back in the fridge. Alas! I am married to someone who cares little where the food comes from or how it got that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/butter-generic-vs-high-end-brand/630765.md?page=1)