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Comment by jcims | Hacker News Reader

I just want to dip a spoon in at every step and sample it.

About two years ago I bought just about every butter at the local grocery and started sampling them. (COVID hobby i guess) and it completely changed my relationship with butter. I found a few that were clear favorites...to the point where one of them I can slice off a thin pat and just eat it neat.

Butter in the abstract is loved, but somehow it has been relegated to commodity status (at least around here). It's fun digging into it and realizing there's a whole landscape out there.

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I remember when I first learned that butter is more than "just butter". In my case I was at the local import shop and the guy working the cheese counter offered me a sample of some cheese he was recommending. I said "oh that would be good on a slice of bread with some butter and a bit of thyme". His response was "of course, but which butter?", and proceeded to walk me through a rapid crash course in butters with samples. I remember it well because we ended up with a group we called "butter club" - a group of foodies that took turns hosting dinners and all recruited by the question "of course, but what type of butter?"

Such a fun little slice of "the world is a big place".

This really brings back memories of my childhood. I grew up on a small family farm, and all of our butter came from the cream from our own cows. Not only are there huge differences between kinds of butter, there are also huge seasonal differences between the milk produced by cows, and hence, the butter. When dandelions are in bloom, it's going to be yellower and more fragrant, and definitely more sour when the sorrel is sprouting. It was always a surprise what you'd get, even when using the same process.

And notice too that your butter changes in flavor, even color, throughout the year. It remains one of the few products that hasnt been rigidly commodified.

Buttergate. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56175784

Could you share the fruits of your labor with us?

I can't really because the actual fruit of my labor is the enrichment of my understanding of butter. It's 100% worth it, I spent maybe $60 on ~10 lbs of butter and it was all used up within a month or two.

One other thing I've started to do is leave some butter out all of the time. My grandma used to do this and nobody ever got sick from it. But the butter gets soooo soft and unctuous. Those French butter bell things are a pita, I just use a regular butter dish with a lid.

I don't know if it's the same but I rediscovered a few raw veggies taste. Lettuce is sparkling but it's o so subtle. Servings and sauces hide all that behind a lot of ecstatic sensations but you forget the original taste. Butter too.

Raw cabbage is amazing. It’s bright and crispy/crunchy and sweet and just a little spicy.

Would you mind sharing which brands were your favorites?

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