23 Jun 2011 The exoneration of butter

Cultured butter from Ladismith Cheese was crowned SA’s 2011 Dairy Product of the Year two months ago – if anything, this development exemplifies the foodie trend exonerating this most delicious of fats. Here’s what the influential Hartman Group in the US has to say about butter…

“We’re happy to announce that butter is no longer a dietary villain. A poster ingredient for all of campaigns to eat real food that have been popping up around the US lately, butter is becoming increasingly accepted by the mainstream. Consumers note that they are returning to butter, shunning margarine spreads and using it alongside olive oil (always, as they say, in moderation).

“While many of these popular butters are super premium, even private-label sales have been growing in the last few years.

“Real butter is gaining ground from the culinary community and, more interestingly, from a health and wellness perspective. Forward-leaning health and wellness consumers have been singing the praises of real butter for the last few years, particularly pasture or grass-fed butters that often provide higher levels of antioxidants, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and largely coveted Omega-3 fatty acids.

“As butter is fast becoming a staple in the movement towards real food, there is potential for great pay off in creating a more distinctive food product in the eye of the consumer, particularly if the type of butter is called out, such as cultured European-style or pastured butter. Even a narrative about the dairy farmer or breed of cow that produced the butter is a quality cue.

“Consumers are increasingly looking to butter as an indulgent yet higher-quality fat that may even promote health in moderation.”

Source: The Hartman Group