What is up with butter these days?

November 1, 2024 11:53 AM

Am I the only one finding that butter at room temperature stays harder than it ever did before? Why is that, and what can I do about it?

I've been using the Trader Joe's branded unsalted butter for spreading, cooking, and baking for several years. About the time they transitioned from the fat quarters ("west coast butter") to the more standard quarters, I noticed that the butter didn't get as soft at room temperature. It's harder to spread and it's more difficult to mix and cream with sugar. A little googling suggests that this is because cows are being fed more palm oil? Is that true? And regardless, is there a brand or style of butter that still gets properly soft at room temperature?

posted by DrGail to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

A little googling suggests that this is because cows are being fed more palm oil? Is that true?

Empirical testing suggests that it's probably part of the story, though there are probably other factors at play as well.

And regardless, is there a brand or style of butter that still gets properly soft at room temperature?

I would try a European-style butter or a cultured butter.
posted by jedicus at 12:04 PM on November 1

Have you changed what temperature you keep your kitchen at? Not necessarily the thermostat, that's just the temperature on the wall where your thermostat is located. Your kitchen temperature might have changed if, for example, there were more people at home all day a few years ago and the kitchen was being used more.

I usually keep my butter in the fridge because it gets too soft and runny at room temperature most of the year where I live. I don't remember what my current butter is but I left it out by mistake recently, and even though it's not a hot part of the year the butter in it's paper wrapping was too soft to really pick up easily. So I don't think this is universal.

But I'm on of those people who is sure the standard normal quarters are the West coast butter, I don't know maybe the butter is different too?
posted by yohko at 12:26 PM on November 1

I've noticed that Kerrygold butter is more spreadable than other butters, even when cold. I take it and the bread out of the fridge at the same time, and by the time the toast is ready, the butter is spreadable.
posted by OrangeDisk at 12:32 PM on November 1

I keep Kerrygold in a butter crock on my countertop, I do not keep my house especially toasty (I set the furnace to 64° daytime and 59° nighttime) and I haven't experienced any difference in spreadability across multiple years.

For normie butter I use Costco brand unsalted and I haven't noticed anything weird there either, but it's possible I don't bake often enough to notice a change.
posted by phunniemee at 12:42 PM on November 1

I used to know a couple of cheese snobs who informed me that they cut the cheese with wax these days and you have to buy the good stuff or you're just eating candles

I have no idea if this is accurate, but I've wondered about butter. I am pretty sure around covid times when a lot more people were baking, there was news going around that the butter wasn't the same and "they're cutting it with palm oil products" etc

also, your question is worded like a Seinfeld bit, not that there's anything wrong with that
posted by ginger.beef at 12:46 PM on November 1

Could also be more water content in the butter. There was a big dust-up a year ago or so when Costco slightly changed their Kirkland signature butter (or their supplier did) and it had more water than before. Bakers are still outraged.
posted by ApathyGirl at 1:11 PM on November 1

I keep my butter at room temp, and have standard quarters (in Ohio), and haven't noticed an issue. It's just as soft as it has been (a bit softer in the summer; harder in the winter). I usually buy the store brand or Land O Lakes, FWIW. Always salted.

BUT, don't get me started about the wrappers! They're getting harder and harder to remove without getting butter all over my fingers. I don't know if my grocery store is mishandling the butter or if the factory equipment is crap, but the wrappers never come off cleanly anymore. The edges are halfway melted into the butter. *shaking fist at cloud*
posted by hydra77 at 1:18 PM on November 1

Perhaps look into a butter bell. It won't change the characteristics of Trader Joe's butter that maybe isn't really butter, but it will keep regular butter at room temperature and easily spreadable on demand.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:41 PM on November 1

We get fresh butter from the local high end cheese place and it’s unbelievably good. I think it’s imported from France? It’s not for cooking IMO, it’s got a savory umami flavor to it, but it’s 100% butter.

I wouldn’t say it melts faster per se, but the flavor is so outrageously delicious that I can only strongly recommend that you find the bougie little shops where artisanal butters are sold. Perhaps there you will find the pillowy butter you’re looking for!
posted by seemoorglass at 1:45 PM on November 1

I have a hard time believing that there's suddenly less milkfat and more water in commodity butter in the US, since the USDA defines butter as "…containing not less than 80 percent by weight of milkfat, all tolerance having been allowed for" (PDF of the standard). That standard has been in effect since 1989 and it seems economically unlikely that any major dairy producers would have failed for 34 years to optimize their product lines to produce butter that just meets the definition, only to figure it out in 2023. I guess I shouldn't put too much faith in food inspections considering all the listeria and E. coli in the news recently, but I still suspect the change is somewhere else in the production line.

Empirical testing suggests that it's probably part of the story, though there are probably other factors at play as well.

That article talks about changes to dairy production that may have resulted in more hard fat crystals in the butter, and I am inclined to believe that hypothesis. If you had the same amount of water and milkfat by weight, but you made the fat more difficult to emulsify, that could explain the texture I've been noticing in commodity butter for at least the past few months. I have now started cutting cold butter into small pieces before melting it in the microwave (for recipes that call for it), as I was getting tired of cleaning up explosions caused by steam pockets that formed as the butter heated unevenly.
posted by fedward at 1:50 PM on November 1

Have you checked the temperature of your fridge? When my butter was being too soft, that was one of the indicators my fridge was having issues. You can get some kind of fridge temperature gauge at Target to check. Maybe your fridge is a bit too cold?
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:52 PM on November 1

I was just thinking about this last night. I have definitely noticed. We primarily use Costco or Aldi butter, sometimes Sam's Club/Walmart, but I have noticed it with all of them in the last year, two years maybe? We keep our house around 68-69 around the clock so I don't think it's a problem of being too cold in here.
posted by tubedogg at 1:57 PM on November 1

Oh, forgot... I have heard before that Kerrygold spreads much better, even cold, though I haven't tried it for myself.
posted by tubedogg at 1:58 PM on November 1

fedward: I have now started cutting cold butter into small pieces before melting it in the microwave (for recipes that call for it), as I was getting tired of cleaning up explosions caused by steam pockets that formed as the butter heated unevenly.

Glad to know it's not just me! I've been wondering why over the past while I've had awful butter explosions when trying to melt butter in the microwave, when it used to be a non-issue just a couple of years ago. I now have to turn the power way down and put a paper towel over the measuring cup.
posted by indexy at 2:05 PM on November 1

BUT, don't get me started about the wrappers! They're getting harder and harder to remove without getting butter all over my fingers. I don't know if my grocery store is mishandling the butter or if the factory equipment is crap, but the wrappers never come off cleanly anymore. The edges are halfway melted into the butter. *shaking fist at cloud*

I don’t know … but maybe you might want to pick up a Pom-Pom before your next bout of fist shaking?

Because I’d guess that the problem is they got rid of the PFAs in the wrappers.

I’ve noticed the melting issue too. The butter seems whiter as well, and I’ve always avoided butter that added coloring agents.
posted by jamjam at 2:05 PM on November 1

Not only harder but also with big globules of water that explode violently in the skillet. I'm genuinely afraid to fry an egg these days, having been burned repeatedly on the face and arms. The product is dangerously unfit to purpose.

Also, all the mainstream brands (Challenge, Tillamook, Land O'Lakes, etc.) taste nothing like real butter. Unfortunately Kerrygold is ruinously expensive but maybe that's a good thing for my arteries as I find I'm just using a lot less of it overall these days. I certainly can't afford to bake with Kerrygold and I don't feel inspired to bake with this other butter that is barely distinguishable from Crisco.
posted by HotToddy at 3:00 PM on November 1

I dunno, I know there may be regional differences in distribution for Costco (I'm in the Northeast US) but I'm a very prolific baker who buys Costco/Kirkland butter and while I was very aware of the butterfat/water content outrage online, I must say I experienced zero of the issues that other people were reporting.

Every winter, I bake several thousand cookies- at least two-thirds of which are recipes I bake every year, using Costco butter, including some really butter-dependent recipes like sables and pie-dough-based cookies/tarts. I haven't noticed any significant difference year to year, butter-wise.

Unfortunately, the US doesn't require a listing of the butterfat percentage on butter labels, so it's not been proven either way AFAIK.

If you want softer butter, European style butter will definitely have higher butterfat, and you could keep it in a butter bell or butter keeper at room temp.
posted by rachaelfaith at 4:01 PM on November 1

I’m on the other side of the world (Australia) but have noticed that store-brand (Coles or Woolworths) butter doesn’t soften as easily and won’t cream well with sugar anymore. It was my go-to for baking, but I’m now splurging on euro butter.
posted by third word on a random page at 4:43 PM on November 1

One thing I have always noticed about Trader Joe's brand butter is that you cannot safely microwave it. There is some air bubble that will "pop" and spew melted butter on the roof of the microwave. This has never happened to me with any other type of butter. So maybe there used to be excess air? The other possibility could be a change in feed, saturated fat is solid at room temperature.
posted by wnissen at 5:31 PM on November 1

This was a thing in Canada in 2021. They called it "Buttergate" because even Canadian butter can be infected (adulterated?!) by Watergate, I guess?
posted by atomicstone at 6:25 PM on November 1

There's a kirkland signature "not" kerrygold that's cheaper and great. Also, aldi/lidl frequently sells kerrygold at amazing prices.
posted by atomicstone at 6:26 PM on November 1

I will stop after this comment, but my thought, based on the Canadian experience re culling, is that avian flu is affecting cattle, who are being culled, so something (?) Is being stretched re feed or actual butter processing.
posted by atomicstone at 6:48 PM on November 1

The Kerrygold in half pound blocks behaves as it always has (though I think it doesn't taste as good as it used to), but the new Kerrygold that comes in quarters never softens on the counter.
posted by miscbuff at 6:51 PM on November 1

Following buttergate CBC did a deep dive on this very topic
posted by piyushnz at 10:07 PM on November 1