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Baking3 min read

How to Taste Butter (Yes, Really)

A butter-tasting framework — grass-fed vs. grain-fed, cultured vs. sweet cream, European vs. American — for bakers who want to know what they're baking with.

Warm three tabs of butter to cool room temperature. Different brands, ideally different styles.

Taste them plain, on a piece of neutral bread. Notice color first — grass-fed is yellow, grain-fed is pale.

Cultured butter tastes tangy and complex. Sweet cream tastes clean and simple. Neither is better; they're tools.

European butters usually have higher fat (82–85%) than American (80%). That extra fat is why croissants made with European butter are noticeably flakier.

Do this once and you'll never buy butter thoughtlessly again.