I've been thinking about milk fat more than usual these days. What I've been thinking is that I love it. Having read recently that the French make butter with a higher percentage of fat, I decided to buy some the other day. Then, for the sake of comparison, I dropped by Cook Farm in Hadley, MA, and purchased some of their butter, too, which had been produced by the following holsteins:
Notice the come-hither look of cows. Very flirty, those cows.Inside the farm stand, I asked the girl behind the counter if she knew the percentage of milk fat in her butter, and she regarded me as if I had just said something deeply immaterial. Farm girls know what's what.
A few days later I sat down with my two butters and tasted thin pats of each. The French butter was manifestly salty and sharp. The sharpness might be a product of the pasteurization process, the heat of which can give milk a slightly toasted flavor. Purists complain about this, but I admire the glossal effect. The local, unpasteurized butter, however, was absolutely silky. I felt as though a bra had been gently pushed into my mouth. The verdict, then, is that both butters have much to offer.
