The market · Dairy and eggs · France and the north-west, Northern and Central Europe

Cultured butter

Butter churned from cream ripened with lactic bacteria first — tangier, nuttier and more aromatic than sweet-cream butter, and usually higher in fat. The norm in much of France and northern Europe.

tangy · nutty · lactic · rich

What to do with it

Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleCultured butter would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoCultured butter would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaCultured butter would soften its edge

Goes with

breadradishflaky saltpuff pastry

Knowing it

Where to buy
Delis and cheese shops; labelled cultured, lactic or European-style.
Worth knowing
Make it: leave cream with a spoon of crème fraîche or live yoghurt at room temperature overnight, whip it past whipped cream until it splits, then knead the butter in iced water. The liquid left is real buttermilk.

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