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A Better Bit of Butter

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:21 am

What a fascinating thread this has become!

I'm dashing out now, but have just found this fascinating article about the Normande breed of cows:

http://www.normandegenetics.com/about-breed.html

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Alexandria » Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:54 am

Renée,

Normandie is the Bread & Butter heaven of France .. This butter (non salted ) is simply incredible ..

They are also highly known for their natural bio ecological Flour called: Farine de Perche which is produced by a handful of locals in ancient tradition and furthermore, baguettes du Perche worth trading countries for !

This region is also known for their Percheron horses and apples, and Calvados .. It is approx. 100 miles southwest of Paris and close to Chartes ..


The renowned Baguette Baker is David Lambert ..

Have a lovely lovely day .. :rudolph1
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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Dec 05, 2017 12:08 pm

I remember staying in a gite just in Brittany, not far from the Normandy border, and buying the best croissants from a local bakery, you could smell caramelised butter even from the car park. All local of course

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Dec 05, 2017 12:32 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:When I was a child our milk came from Guernsey (breed) cows kept locally in Hampshire, but I'm not aware of any butter, though the cream was delicious, and the milk so rich we took off top of the milk with a bulb baster and whipped it

There are Alderney cows too I think; no t'internet says the pure breed is extinct :(


Does anyone remember this?

http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.fr/2 ... milne.html

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Uschi » Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:16 pm

My East German relatives made whipped cream from butter and milk regularly, because cream was hard to come by (in a farming village!!!) and it went off so quickly.

It was edible, but nothing like real whipped cream.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Tue Dec 05, 2017 1:50 pm

Joan, that's a lovely poem! :D

I have had a couple of lovely holidays in Normandy recently, staying in a relative's flat in Villers-Sur-Mer and although we usually ate out for our main meal in the evenings, we bought the wonderful baguettes and butter every day.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Dec 05, 2017 2:40 pm

I remember the AA Milne poem, I think we read it at school

Meant to say that in the past Lidl unsalted butter has been very good, haven't had any recently so not sure of the current price

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Tue Dec 05, 2017 4:35 pm

I am demanding to know who started this thread! :twisted: Ahhh ... Sakkarin I see!

Well, I happened to call in Waitrose this morning and browsed around the butter section and this is what I came up with.


Image

I also bought a baguette made with French flour and some Quicke's cheese.

:wino
Last edited by Renée on Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:02 pm

Here is some information about Échiré butter. The Cheddar cheese by Quicke is excellent and has a wonderful depth of flavour.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 46092.html

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:13 pm

Sheesh, I hope you didn't pay a tenner for your Echire, Renee, unless it's a very special treat!

Didn't realise there was so much variation in butter, I presumed if you tinkered with it (especially the fermenting element), it would be more akin to cheese or yoghurt.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:50 pm

I am curious and like to delve into flavours Sakkarin. I paid £3.99, I think, for the Échirée butter, but the other packs are going into the freezer.

I'm making Alexandria's Sicilian fish for tonight. Living on my own, means that I can please myself what I eat!

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Alexandria » Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:51 am

@Renée,

Yes, these are amazing butters ..

And thank you again for your zealousness with my recipe ..

The fish is absolutely amazing !

Have a lovely evening .. :chrissytree1 :wino :wino
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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:52 am

In less oleophobic times, we used to have gold top milk delivered. I loved the 'top of the milk' on cereals.

Given the size of Alderney, the local cattle can never have been very numerous, and possibly more were kept elsewhere, as Jersey and Guernsey are.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:55 pm

I paid £3.99


Splutter!
We do get absorbed by our foodie ventures, don't we Renee. Where price is no object sometimes.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:02 pm

Yes, Gill! We have had many ventures together food-wise!

I can remember curing pork to make bacon.
Gravlax was another one.
Sourdough bread, when I made the amazing Potato & Old English Ale loaves.
Sausage-making was another of my ventures, when I had a Kenwood and bought the sausage filling attachment.
Wine and beer-making in the distant past.

What next I'm wondering?!!

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:12 pm

Good question,
that would make an inspiring thread.

Never got into the sausage making buzz. My not being a sausage lover I guess.

Pasta making got me hooked a few years ago.
Which I still do periodically.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Sakkarin » Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:20 pm

I wouldn't like to put a price on how much my recent Korean splurge cost me! I think just the parking at Golders Green was a fiver...

I've made many Korean meals which went unreported as they were retreading old ground, but I've got through at least four 500g tubs of Gochujang...

Having said that, the Korean meals probably cost not much more than the normal meals I might have had, as they tend to use less meat than my normal diet.

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Pampy » Thu Dec 07, 2017 6:59 pm

Badger's Mate wrote:In less oleophobic times, we used to have gold top milk delivered. I loved the 'top of the milk' on cereals.

I still buy it sometimes!

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Stokey Sue » Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:03 pm

I looked for butter in our local Waitrose yesterday, quite a lot of empty space, nothing interesting except the one Sakkarin bought (which I didn't get as salty) Odd I went to the big Holloway branch which is very foodie so surprised

I did get some Poilane bread
I'll have to look in La Fromagerie

All our Guernsey milk at home was gold top, I buy it specially for cooking sometimes, makes a noticeable difference to cream caramel and other milk based custards IMO

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Re: A Better Bit of Butter

Postby Renée » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:45 pm

Our Waitrose store is fairly new and big, Sue. It was the first one in north Manchester. It is always well stocked. I go to one in Wokingham occasionally and it isn't so well stocked.

Here is the selection that they should have:

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/brow ... try/butter

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