Kerrygold: An Irish Butter Worth Buying

Ireland is known for much more than Guinness beer and Jameson. The country is also home to one of the butters most cherished by home and professional cooks alike: Kerrygold. So what makes Kerrygold butter so special?

Let's begin with its appearance: compare Kerrygold (pictured at top) to conventional American butter (shown below). Kerrygold has a deep straw color, rather than the pale, chalky color of standard butter. And no, Kerrygold butter isn't dyed with artificial colors to amp up its golden hue; the dairy cows graze on Ireland's emerald-green grass 10 months out of the year, and the beta-carotene in the fresh grass contributes to the rich color. (In contrast, most conventional dairy cows in America don't have the luxury of grazing freely on green pastures and are fed a diet that consists of corn and soybeans.)

In my opinion, even the greatest beurre Français doesn't hold a candle to Kerrygold in flavor. I'll never forget my first experience eating it: I melted a tablespoon on a hot piece of toast and took a bite. It was the best butter I had ever experienced. I quickly and unapologetically slathered another tablespoon on my toast until it became saturated in the unctuous fat. Creamy and sweet with a pure butter flavor, Kerrygold is so fresh-tasting, it will make you think a farmer has just hand-churned the butter for you that day.

Such a luxurious butter must have an outrageous price tag to match, right? Wrong! At my local Whole Foods, the butter is usually on sale at two for $5. (It should be noted that each Kerrygold stick is the equivalent of two standard American sticks of butter.) It's even available at Trader Joe's.Test Kerrygold butter for yourself and prepare to fall into a passionate butter love affair.

Here are a few recipes I've used Kerrygold butter in:

• Clarified butter
• Cinnamon rolls
• Buttermilk pancakes
• Colcannon
• British scones

Are you a Kerrygold fan, too?

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