So if you haven't noticed, I've been on a bit of a butter kick lately. It probably started when I saw the raw butter at the natural foods store, and when Anne asked me about Plugra. The debacle with the goat milk butter, however, kicked off an idea... a butter tasting.
I gathered together seven varieties of domestic and imported cultured, "european-style" sweet (unsalted) butter, and Anne came over. We tasted each on its own, and with slices of Acme's sweet batard.
Celles Sur Belle - This is an imported AOC French butter from Poitou. Anne found this to be fruity, and I tasted a slight tang. It was very smooth and creamy. It took the longest to soften, and it was the palest. This was my favorite.
Horizon Organic "European-Style" butter - This was very neutral tasting - bland and inoffensive. It also softened the quickest.
Organic Pastures Raw butter - We found this to have a pleasant popcorn like taste, with a strong dairy undertone, not unlike its milk. You could tell the cows it came from had been grass-fed.
Organic Valley - This 84% butterfat product was sweet and neutral, then had a oily and floral aftertaste. This was Anne's favorite.
Plugra - This 82% butterfat standby was sweet and slighty acidic. However, it had been out in my kitchen in its butter dish for a couple days, so its temperature was a lot warmer.
President - Anne and I found this imported Normandy butter to be slightly nutty. I got the feeling, though, that this butter had been on the shelf for some time - it tasted like it may have absorbed some flavors from the refrigerator shelf upon which it was stored.
Straus - Anne and I agreed that this was our least favorite. It had a strange, almost artificial aftertaste. It had an 85-86% butterfat.