Butter is a fridge (or butter-dish) staple – but do you really know what you are looking for? These days we're blessed with options galore, from cows milk butter to goats milk butter and even alternatives such as ghee. Baking is a national pastime in the UK - many of us would like to be able to confidently choose quality butter for buttercream, frosting and cookie making.
So we've compiled a how-to, on picking the best type of butter for your cooking and toast-spreading needs. If it's organic or top-quality ingredients or regionally-made or lactose-free butter that you're after, you are in luck! Plant-based diets are catered for too in our related article on vegan butter choices. We've rated our ten favourite British, Irish and French butter brands on Amazon, Tesco and more including Lurpak and Président – giving you plenty of food for thought!
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Table of Contents
Unsalted butter is the best all-rounder. When used in cooking, baking or part of a sauce, it creates a creaminess and gives you total control over your recipe, letting the natural flavours shine through. Not only does it also work well on sandwiches and on toast, but it's healthier for those on a low-salt diet. Unsalted butter is best stored in the fridge to ensure it stays fresh.
Goats milk has a significantly lower lactose content than cows milk, making goats milk butter more easily digestible. Goats milk contains A2 beta casein, a type of protein that aids digestion and promotes health as well as generally enhancing the absorption of iron and calcium into the body.
Aside from its health benefits, goats milk also has a lower melting point, so it can be easily blended into recipes and spreads well on toast. It's also creamy, delicious and totally natural; goats milk butter isn't mass-produced like regular butter, so it retains its quality and flavour.
If you'd like to try a butter which is completely free from animal products, see our vegan butter suggestions.
Used in Indian and Pakistani cultures for thousands of years, ghee has now become popular in other types of cuisine due to its high smoke point and specific health benefits. Ghee is totally free of lactose and casein, so it's a better choice for those with allergies or sensitivities to dairy.
However, it's more concentrated in saturated fat than butter, as its water and milk solids have been removed, so is not suitable for those on a low-fat diet. On the other hand, those following keto or high-fat plans absolutely swear by it! Ghee is more stable for cooking at higher temperatures, whereas butter is better for baking and cooking at lower temperatures due to its creamier taste.
Our selected coconut oils may be of interest to those of you avoiding dairy.
For busier people, those with kids or anyone who just doesn't like fuss, softer or 'spreadable' butter is an ideal option. Not only is it easier to slice through, but it comes in a tub rather than in a wrapper making it convenient to use and store.
However, it's important to check the list of ingredients to make sure no unwanted fillers have been added in order to create a softer consistency, resulting in more of a margarine-like spread than a butter. Products made with pressed rapeseed oil or a higher percentage of milk will be not only the tastiest, but the healthiest too.
These supermarket hummus options are fuss-free spreads too.
Essentially, butter only needs to be made from cream or milk and possibly salt. If you're looking for the highest quality option, look for butter made from organic cream or milk, from farms that practice higher welfare standards.
Choosing a butter made from just a few well-chosen ingredients with higher welfare standards or organic status makes a world of difference when compared to your average cheaper butter spread. Once you have tasted quality, you won't want to go back!
Our number one pick is one of the greatest food exports from France. You don't get much better than Président butter! This is the unsalted version, which stays fresh for almost a month in the fridge, but there is a slightly salted version available too. Trust us though, they're both utterly scrumptious.
Made in Normandy with only the best milk and cream and with a slightly higher fat content for an unbeatably creamy taste, it is perfect for use in sweet and savoury baking, sauces, or simply slathered on toast or crackers. Bon appétit!
This salted butter from Waitrose's own Duchy label has it all. Made in the UK from the milk of cows who enjoy an organic diet on high welfare farms, it tastes absolutely delicious whilst being one of the cheaper options.
Its only ingredients are organic butter and salt, with the milk sourced from West Country British farms – the way it should be! Rich, creamy and satisfyingly salty, this is a great addition to the weekly shopping list.
Soft and flavoursome with the right amount of salt, this is a brilliant pick for baking, cooking and for spreading on toast or in sandwiches. This creamy salted butter is also made at family farms in Somerset, bringing to mind picnics in the British countryside.
If you're looking for a good organic staple, made in the UK, Yeo Valley is the brand to rely on. Fairly-priced, widely available online and using milk from free-range cows, it offers premium taste and quality for everyone!
This butter is uniquely wrapped in greaseproof paper - meaning that you can compost the wrapping after use, so this is a great buy for those aiming to live a more zero -waste lifestyle.
The whey-cream makes this traditional-looking butter tasty and satisfying, reviewers rave that it tastes like the butter of childhood memories. To top it all off, this butter freezes happily and performs well in bakes and on toast.
A winner of a Great Taste Award in 2020, St. Helen's Farm Goats Butter is as popular a choice as cows milk butter, and it's not hard to see why. Churned from fresh goat-derived cream, with just a pinch of salt, it's suitable for a cows milk-free diet but whilst providing all of the same deliciousness.
What makes this goat-milk butter popular is the fact that it tastes creamy without tasting "goaty". Although it is, of course, fresh from the farm, it has a delightful lightness to it. Non-fatty and clean-tasting with the benefits of goat milk – what's not to love?
An ingredient used in Ayurvedic Indian cooking - ghee is made from 100% clarified butter, or Geklärter, butter. We had to include it on our list as it is ideal for cooking, baking and shallow frying and can be used as a spread if you fancy trying it.
This pure ghee is a good alternative to using butter as it contains practically no lactose or casein but is extremely tasty and versatile. Also, the cost for a larger kilo container is very reasonable and ghee does not need to be refrigerated, so it's a good long-lasting choice.
If you want pure butter, but like it a bit more spreadable in an easy-to-use tub, Kerrygold's Softer Butter may be the one for you. Made from cream from the milk of Irish grass-fed cows, it has a rich, smooth taste and texture.
Despite being a breeze to spread straight from the fridge, the only other ingredient is salt and it's free of vegetable oil, preservatives and colourings. Super-creamy, pure and easy to devour, this one may turn you into an Irish butter convert!
One of the real stalwarts on our list, you know where you are with Lurpak. Of their many options, we chose the spreadable and slightly salted butter because it is both tasty and super-convenient to use. On that note, it's now available in 500 g and 750 g tubs, for larger households.
Unlike most other similar butter products, Lurpak is spreadable yet made from all-natural ingredients! So it contains no colourings, preservatives or other additives. Blended with pressed rapeseed oil, it is indeed easy to spread but without compromising on taste or health, with a perfect balance of salt, too.
The height of luxury when it comes to butter, we simply had to include this one in our list. Made by Waitrose and sourced from France, this butter is made to a traditional Breton recipe and is blended with salt and crunchy sea salt crystals. Prepare to be transported to the breezy terrace of a French chateau!
With the quality taste and gorgeous crunch of the sea salt crystals, this butter is not really made to be an all-rounder, instead, it's best saved for a decadent snack or a dinner party. Perhaps it's even too decadent to be used in cooking, but it is perfect to be eaten as it is, piled onto a slice of fresh bread.
Organic, unsalted and made from 100% British milk, this offering from Tesco is pretty no-frills but functional and tasty. This butter is made from the milk of cows free to graze on a grass-rich diet, and at a reassuringly cheap price!
It's always great to find yummy and affordable organic products, and this one works well for all purposes, whether for baking, cooking or spreading. This butter will need to be kept in the fridge, however.
Baking can be such a relaxing pastime, as long as you have all the right tools at your disposal! And food blogger Mel has got you covered with her top pick of products for baking sourdough bread or any bread for that matter, from proofing baskets to serrated knives. So all that's left to say is, on your marks, get set... BAKE!
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