While there’s no penalty for going over the 80% butterfat limit, craft butters in the US can theoretically be penalized by the USDA for flavor variations caused by a less standardized process. USDAGrade AA butter must be made from “sweet cream of low natural acid.” Barton says that this can lead to artisanal butters produced in the US to be classified as defective for having the tangy, grassy flavors that are valued in Europe.
By contrast, the highestquality label given to butter in France is the PDO, or Protected Designation of Origin. Only three regional styles of French butter (Charentes-Poitou, Isigny, and Bresse) have been given the PDO label, which ensures that the product is made using regional ingredients and traditional methods. While American butters are downgraded for having a pronounced “feed” flavor, the best French butter intentionally tastes like what French cows eat. Many European butters are also cultured (meaning they’re made with added live cultures, resulting in a lactic flavor), which can further enhance the tanginess.
So European butter is better, right?
For years after my first French butter epiphany, I was an intolerable butter snob. If it wasn’t European, I was positive it wasn’t good. But while the American standard remains, well, the standard, it’s not as hard as it once was to find American-made butter with at least 82% butterfat and all the layered, complex flavors found in European butters.
If you’ve spent any amount of time browsing the butter aisle at a grocery store in the US, you’ve probably come across a foil-wrapped block ofPlugrá. This butter looks and sounds French—the name is a play on the French phrase “plus gras,” or “more fat,” and like most European butters, it contains 82% butterfat. Unlike European butters, it’s made by the Dairy Farmers of America.
“We were originally developed specifically for the 82% butterfat because it was requested by professional chefs looking for a butter in the United States that had the higher butterfat,” said Lisa Miller, General Manager of dairy brands at Dairy Farmers of America. Because of its consistent butterfat percentage, baking with Plugrá will theoretically result in the same quality every time. This is especially important when baking on a professional scale; both pastry chefs I spoke to for this article listed Plugrá among their favorite brands.
“I would say my preference is more for fat percentage than American versus European these days,” says Caroline Schiff, pastry chef at Gage & Tollner in New York City and author ofThe Sweet Side of Sourdough. “Traditionally European butters had a higher butterfat percentage, but now we’re seeing some American ones that can compete. The higher the fat, the better.”
There are distinct advantages to buying American-made, European-style butter, and Plugrá isn’t the only brand making them. Organic Valley, Vital Farms, and Vermont Creamery all make products with at least 82% butterfat (Vital Farms’ butter hasa whopping 85%) and the grassy, tangy flavors you’d expect from an imported butter at a much lower cost.
“When you buy Plugrá,” Miller explains, “you’re paying for the 82% butterfat, you’re not paying for something else.” Imported butter is more expensive (and has a higher carbon footprint) because of additional factors like transportation costs and import fees—that’s why half a pound of Beurre d’Isigny and a pound of Organic Valley’s grass-fed butter both cost around eight dollars.
Even though artisanal American butter is catching up to the best European butters, some aficionados still prefer the unique qualities of imported butter. “My preference is always for European butter, more specifically French butter,” says Chef Chen. “My favorite butter brands for baking are Lescure 84% and Échiré [because] the milk and butter have a consistently distinct flavor from the region.”
I get it. When I’m making huge batches of croissant dough to keep in my freezer, I use a less-expensive, high-butterfat American butter, and it works great. But when I’m alone in the kitchen with a basket of radishes, I go for the rich, lactic flavors of salted Beurre d’Isigny.
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