Spread some joy with a flavoured BUTTER
From seaweed to champagne, we put the new toast toppers to the test . . .
Step away from the salted. push that jamstreaked tub to the back of the fridge. the humble block of butter is being elevated with wild and wonderful flavours.
Chefs have long known the power of flavoured or compound butters with herbs, spices or other ingredients added to give it a delicious taste.
In lockdown many foodies started making their own compound butters and sharing the results on Instagram with the hashtag # Flavoured butter challenge.
Food producers are now meeting growing demand by selling readymade flavoured butters, from savoury to sweet, with ingredients ranging from champagne to maple syrup.
they are more gourmet than past offerings on the shelves, and proving more successful. Here are some of the most interesting out there . . .
A ROYAL WAVE
CONTENT: Cream, dulse (seaweed) and sea salt.
TASTE: Allison and Will Abernethy make artisan butter on their farm in County Down, Northern Ireland, and supply major restaurants across the UK, as well as being stocked in Selfridges and Whole Foods.
their creamy butter is flecked with large, reddish pieces of dried dulse, a wild seaweed.
Harry and Meghan served it to their wedding guests with Scottish roe as a starter, and no wonder: smoky, savoury, it really does taste of the sea. 5/5
SPRUCE UP STEAK
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CONTENT: Unsalted butter, tarragon vinegar, tarragon, sea salt, lemon juice, bay leaves, pink Himalayan salt and white pepper.
TASTE: the Sublime brand was initially conceived as a way to inject flavour into steaks. (Its founder, Chris Mair, also runs a steak appreciation society.)
Its new bearnaise butter is densely packed with herby flakes and has that familiar creamy, lemony taste.
You wouldn’t need much to add flavour to meat or to dress up a sandwich.
(If your taste leans towards the spicy, try the chimichurri butter based on the traditional South American grill accompaniment — with parsley, oregano, coriander, chilli, garlic and lemon, it gives a real kick.) 4/5
MAPLE SWEET
CONTENTS: British butter, pure grade-A Canadian maple syrup and a dash of sea salt.
TASTE: Made in Wales with 40 per cent maple syrup, this butter can be used to glaze carrots, fry sausages and bacon, or try it on toast and crumpets as a wholesome alternative to jam
With that distinctive maple syrup taste (without tipping into being sickly), this creamy, sweet golden butter feels like a real treat. 4/5
NIGELLA’S FAVE
CONTENTS: Cream, salt and black garlic puree (black garlic, lemon juice, sea salt).
TASTE: this is something a bit more imaginative than garlic bread. Black garlic — made when garlic is fermented for a fortnight to caramelise — tints this stick of butter a surprising chocolatey-brown and gives it a subtle sweetness underneath its peppery bite. Miles away from those sad pats of garlic butter found in the frozen baguettes you stick in the oven, it prompted Nigella Lawson to tweet that having it spread on sourdough ‘may be the best thing I have ever eaten or will ever eat’. Understandable. 5/5
FANCY FIZZ
CONTENTS: Sugar, butter and champagne.
TASTE: this golden butter packs a heady, alcoholic punch — it hits you even when unscrewing the jar. After all, it does contain two types of Fortnum’s fizz — Marc de Champagne and Fortnum’s champagne.
tastes like a traditional brandy butter but with a lighter champagne twist. It would give a luxurious edge to a Sunday afternoon cream tea. 4/5
BREAKFAST SPREAD
CONTENTS: Marmite and butter. TASTE: M&S sells this carameltinted roll in a swish presentation case. You might wonder who on earth can’t be trusted to spread their toast with butter and Marmite separately? However, M&S suggest you use this to cook with, like any other compound butter — melting over your potatoes ‘for extra depth and saltiness’ or a rump steak ‘for added meatiness’.
If used when making scrambled eggs, it gives a satisfyingly ‘umami’ flavour — that rounded, savoury taste. But despite the gourmet presentation, you’re still paying an artisan price for everyday ingredients. 3/5
TASTE OF AMERICA
CONTENTS: Welsh butter, blossom honey, cinnamon and salt.
TASTE: this tub of lightlywhipped sweet butter will go down a storm if you like cinnamon (although it’s not too strong if you’re on the fence).
perfect for slathering on a hot waffle to make your brunch feel more New York.
Coming from the same company later this year, a much more British-feeling butter: earl Grey with Apricot. 4/5