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What is Kerrygold Irish Butter?

Kerrygold Irish Butter

Kerrygold is one of the best known brands of Irish butter – perhaps one of the best known Irish brands period if you’re into cooking and baking. Irish butter is a European-style butter and has a higher butterfat content than the average American butter. This translates into a richer, creamier texture for the butter. Kerrygold’s is a little different from other European butters because it has a lot more flavor. It has a tangy note that might remind you of cheese or buttermilk, and as unusual as that might sound at first, it is that little extra bit of savoriness that makes this butter a real standout. That extra flavor is said to be the result of the rich, grass-heavy diet that the cows have in Ireland.

It tastes fantastic smeared on a good piece of bread or toast, and unlike plain butters, it adds a lot of complexity to each bite. It is available in salted and unsalted varieties, and is easy to find in many grocery stores, and even easier to locate at specialty grocers. It is a a bit expensive compared to standard butter, so while it is great for cooking, I’ll often save my block of Irish butter for finishing off dishes or spreading on pieces of baguette. If you haven’t tried it before, I’d recommend starting with Kerrygold Salted Butter and a nice loaf of bread so you can get a feel for the flavor.

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23 Comments
  • Nutmeg Nanny
    March 4, 2010

    I love Irish butter. I exclusively by Kerrygold…it’s so delicious!

  • Inés
    March 4, 2010

    I live in Spain and that’s my to-go brand for baking as it’s usually on the cheap side (I mean, we have way better — and way more expensive — varieties). By the way, here the foil is golden, like a gold ingot (which I think is neat).

    The thing is that I’ve never tried the average American butter. Is it really that different? Wow, good to know.

  • Nicole
    March 4, 2010

    Ines – Interesting! Also, here the Salted Kerrygold butter wrapper is gold. Only the unsalted Kerrygold wrapper is silver

  • Maureen
    March 4, 2010

    This is the only butter my mother will purchase for her and my father. They love it.
    It doesn’t hurt that they are from the North Shore of the Chicago suburbs (Local).

  • Mkerwin
    March 4, 2010

    I’m spoiled, and Kerrygold is the only butter I will put on my bread. I’ve started importing Irish whole wheat flour as well because it makes brown soda bread SO much tastier. I guess I’m very spoiled!

  • Fallon
    March 4, 2010

    I just picked up this butter the other day from Trader Joe’s. I’ve heard about its richness and lately I’ve been craving that buttery taste on warm bread that isn’t super burnt. It is absolutely amazing! I even put it on some brown rice for dinner the other night too. I found my new favorite butter and a little goes a long way!

  • Todd
    March 4, 2010

    It spreads a bit easier, too. I really like the texture for some reason.

  • S~DLT
    March 6, 2010

    Another amazing turn of events….they sell it at Costco now!!

  • Sue
    March 6, 2010

    Okay, you’ve talked me into it for sure now! I saw it at the market the other day and didn’t buy it, but what better time to buy it than March!?! 🙂 I see from the comment above that I should look at Costco first!

  • Lora
    March 14, 2010

    I live in Germany and love to bake with this butter.

  • katie
    March 28, 2010

    I’ve come across this butter in non-European countries and it has always tasted a tiny bit sour, even rancid, to me. I always thought this was because it had been shipped and not kept fresh. So I never buy it in the UK. I’m intrigued to hear it’s supposed to taste that way!

  • Tea
    March 31, 2010

    Wonderful! I really did not think about this topic before from your point of view. But now I am thinking about your idea. I’ve also discussed with my friends about your post.

    Thank you bakingbites.com I’ve bookmarked this page for my reference.

    Mandy Green Tea

  • st
    September 30, 2010

    I just bought it to try it out. Everyone seems to love it.

    I’m just worried about the fat content.

    Does anyone know if this butter is less healthy?

    Cholesterol etc?

  • Laura
    October 10, 2011

    Actually the tangy taste is because Kerrygold is a cultured butter, not anything to do w/ the diet of the cows. The diet may make the color more golden and the butter a bit healthier due to the carotenes from the fresh pasture, though.

  • Laura
    October 10, 2011

    And, oh, yes–the point of using European butter is that w/ more of the water squeezed out leaving a higher butterfat content, this kind of butter gives flakier pastry and crispier cookies, etc. It is worth it whether or not you can discern a more buttery taste, because in recipes that call for it, it is the only kind that delivers the intended texture. The extra water in standard American butter can ruin some recipes.

  • Tom Anderson
    October 12, 2011

    I’ve never run into bad butter before, but I sure did with Kerrygold Salted! I recently bought two 8-oz. blocks that were 10 months from their expiration date. When I first cut into the butter, I immediately noticed there was no smell. I wasn’t too put off at first since Land O’Lakes salted used to be this way too. Then I tasted it: the Kerrygold had no flavor either! Not wanting to throw it out yet, I kept using it for over a week–even trying the other package–alas, no flavor in either one. I’ve never had this happen before. Perhaps I bought a bad batch, but I sure won’t be throwing good money after bad to find out! I’ll go back to my Land O’Lakes, Plugra, and Vermont Creamery. They don’t seem to have quality-control issues!

  • ANGELA JONES
    December 21, 2011

    This is my first time I’ve ever heard about this Irish butter.. I tryed it at Costco the other day I feel in love with this butter.. I’m from California I use to always get butter to make my cakes. Now I’ve got a new butter now (Irish Butter)

  • Susan Jones
    April 5, 2013

    American butter isn’t made from organic milk so the taste is probably fairly bland compared to Irish butter. I want to try the Irish – it sounds great.
    On another note, making butter is a great thing to do with kids. And pretty easy. If you can find organic milk (and it’s getting easier to find) you might even be able to approximate Irish or French butter.

  • Ezra Winters
    July 4, 2014

    Kerrygold Butter is so delicious that when I get it I always have to get two because I end up just eating the first one by itself.

  • Jim Leap
    November 24, 2014

    This is the only butter that I use. I use it for everything…I have even been known to drink the leftover melted butter from lobster dinner! It’s the BEST. Costco sells it for $6.29 for the 3 8 ounce gold pack.

  • Merilee
    March 1, 2015

    I’m 67 years old. When I was a little girl my Dad helped a farmer milk a Jersey cow. We got the milk from the evening milking. I would go with him when he milked her. She was so gentle and calm. Their milk is very rich with cream. We would always use most of the cream to make butter. The Kerry butter is very close to how the butter tasted from the rich Jersey cream. Many Americans who have grown up in the city and who are younger don’t know what “real heavy” cream and butter are. The items that we purchase in the store don’t come close to the raw product that some of us experienced as youngsters. Thank you Kerry butter. I hope I never have to give you up.

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