High-end restaurants are now serving butter as a dish all on its own

200w-2

smoke-butter

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This is what I came here for.

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When my BF was a (very strange) child, he would steal a stick of butter, hide under the kitchen table, and eat as much of it as he could before he got caught XD

Just another reason we get along so well, and I love him (a very strange adult).

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Yeah, I was taken aback by that particular detail. The mark-up must be monstrous… It is good butter (as are similar European-style butters from grass-fed cows) and they are distinct from American butters due to higher fat content, but it’s not particularly special. Which says everything about this particular fad that I need to know…

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Different butters also behave very differently in some recipes, especially for baking.

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I’m tempted to say the Hindus, since they’d do it with ghee; but that’s precisely not a qualification for prospective butter-ban-ers.

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Thank you for clarifying.

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I once heard of a stick of butter rolled in brown sugar, referred to as a “shame stick”

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I assume that this would be an even smaller niche; but this seems like an opportunity for the ‘molecular gastronomy’ types to put some distance between themselves and merely fancy butter by experimenting with some really esoteric distinctions.

Don’t settle for mixed milk fat, like a prole; savor the isolated phospholipids of the milk fat globule membrane! With the right enzymes and centrifuges all manner of dicing should be possible.

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Ghee, this is a very slippery slope. I mean, how much are people really willing to shell out for butter? The prices are going up, and not at a snail’s pace. I’m glad someone’s spilling the (yak butter) tea regarding this. The whole thing makes me snappy and crabby.

(Edited b/c Words Are Hard.)

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IMG_3734

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I’d be surprised if this wasn’t already a thing somewhere even if I’ve never heard about it and don’t understand the appeal. If El Bulli could plan an entire year’s menu for a >$300 meal around water

@anon94804983

I mean, how much are people really willing to shell out for butter?

In my case about $6-$10/lb for Kerrygold or Truly. I’m thoroughly convinced the taste and behavior are worth the cost in just about everything I make. I’d happily spend less elsewhere if I need to. The whole $32 butter board thing at a restaurant, not so much of interest to me.

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I once heard a description from someone who tried deep-fried butter on a stick: he said that it tastes exactly like “regret.”

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I started imagining people just eating it out of a bowl and then realized I guess that’s not so far off from savory ice cream really.

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The secret ingredient is butter

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Salt and Straw is on Line One…

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A few years ago, II read with some horror about a bunch of economic monsters who believed that butter could be nudged onto a more profitable price equilibrium, if a few well placed price shocks could induce the buying public to think of butter as a luxury product, instead of something to be idly scraped against dried bread.

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Butter on chocolate cake? Very very good. Replaces the cloying taste of frosting.

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Mom would make a ganache of butter and melted chocolate to frost her chocolate cake. Win win!

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