6 questions

…with Abernethy Butter

Allison Abernethy and her husband Will have been making butter from their home in Northern Ireland since 2005

How is hand-churned butter different from shop-bought?

The big companies don’t churn butter, they extrude it from cream. Basically, butter is forced from cream at high speed and high power and that affects the flavour. If you take the time to blend your butter by hand, the end result has a unique flavour and creamy texture. It’s why a lot of British chefs prefer it.

Salted or unsalted?

Salted – there’s no taste to unsalted butter. It’s just hard cream. Some cake recipes suggest using unsalted butter as apparently it stops moisture being drawn out of the cake, but I’m not convinced.

Favourite flavoured butter?

I love smoked butter. It gives a lovely subtle smoky/barbecue flavour to food and is so good in mash, especially with something like boeuf bourguignon or a chicken dish.

Any churning tips?

Make sure you have a big enough bowl, as the cream will double in size at one point. A litre of cream needs a two-litre bowl at least – three would be better. Also, keep your buttermilk for a few days until it matures, then use it to bake bread.

What makes County Down pasture so good for butter?

Butter from anywhere in Ireland tends to be good because the cows are kept out on grass and we get lots of rain, so it’s lovely and lush. 6

Why is milk from grass-fed cows better? It leads to butter that’s full of vitamins A, D, E, B12 and K. The carotene in the grass also makes the butter yellow, whereas in France it’s usually white because the cows are mostly grain-fed.