Echire Salted French Butter, 250g

Product Information

The milk used to produce Échiré butter comes from 66 farms, all within a 50 km circumference. The cows enjoy the same grass and climate. With Échiré butter the area of origin is so defined, its flavour is traceable and distinct. Échiré is produced with a huge amount of care and attention to detail, but the fact that it is from a small area in France comes across when you eat it. You can taste the difference. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Or in my case the starter, with which I first ate Echiré at the Delaunay restaurant in London last year. The butter was served in the form of a slim pat alongside a freshly baked, raisin-studded roll. It was unexpectedly delicious, outshining even the bread. I realised that for me, butter had become just something to spread on toast or to cook with, instead of a food in its own right. When it comes to describing a cuisine, stereotypes are usually never welcome. But if there’s one widespread truth we know can confidently repeat when it comes to the French, it’s that they have perfected the art of cheesemaking. And so it should come as no surprise that another French dairy product, butter, is among the best in the world. butter is highly renowned internationally, so much so that many of the top bakeries, pâtisseries, and restaurants use this butter exclusively. There are even two shops in Japan, Maison du Beurre in Tokyo and Marché au Beurre in Osaka devoted to selling Échiré – and only Échiré. Its cult status ensures that the pure-butter croissants, made in-house, sell out before lunch.

Many companies from all over the world were freely using our name to sell their butter. In 1984, a number of producers and processors set up a trade union to defend the producers and processors of Isigny-sur-Mer Butter and Cream. Over the centuries, the way in which we make our Butter has changed very little. The cream is churned to form small grains of butter, which are washed with pure water and then kneaded until a smooth texture is obtained. Its benefits for human health: Our milk has a high mineral salt content, particularly sodium, and high concentrations of micronutrients. These are substances that are essential for healthy and balanced growth. It is also a source of vitamin A, contributing to the growth of bones and teeth, and protects against infection. This butter presents itself pale in colour: the very light yellow of primrose petals. Its texture is also firmer than normal butter, but suppler and not as greasy.As a response to the ongoing climate crisis, producers of French butters have developed new eco friendly products. Organic butter requires the use of top-quality organic milk. This raw material is collected in eco conscious dairy farms where cows only eat fresh grass and non-GMO, pesticide-free fodder. After pasteurization, it is softly skimmed and seeded with natural lactic ferments. Organic butter contains no preservatives and no artificial food colouring. This study made it possible to speed up the process of obtaining the prestigious French AOC label, with the butter finally being granted the European PDO in 1986. Our PDO Isigny Butter must therefore be produced within a precisely defined geographical area of 175 municipalities around Isigny-sur-Mer. butter’s appeal lies in its delicate, creamy and distinct flavor – a recipe that has stayed true to its roots since 1894, made at the same independent dairy near the cities of Poitiers and La Rochelle in Western France. It contains more butterfat (82%) than normal butters and has a higher melting point. This trait makes it especially good for delicacies such as croissants or puff pastry, which need rolling out several times. To obtain this texture and the flavours that are so characteristic of our Isigny Butter, we carefully select the natural fermenting agents that give it all these qualities. These are the essential stages in making Isigny Butter:

Butter is a relative latecomer to the artisan food movement compared with the boom in traditional breads and cheeses, where provenance and original production methods are major selling points. Many French butters are still made in accordance with the oldest culinary traditions. The production of Echiré butter in Poitou-Charentes, for instance, still includes the use of wooden butter churns ! These ancient tools give its delicate hazelnut flavour to this product, which holds a PDO (protected designation of origin) label. Churning: to transform the Cream into Butter. During this stage, repeated vigorous mixing isolates the fat globules and binds them together to form grains of butter. Handling of the butter is also kept to a minimum to preserve its quality. Having it handled and produced by hand helps lessen any damaging impact to the butter.

It all sounds very scientific, but most of the world's best pastry chefs – in New York, Paris and London – agree and prefer baking with Echiré. It contains more butterfat than normal (84 per cent compared with 82 per cent) and a higher melting point. This makes it more plastic and malleable; this is especially good for delicacies such as croissants or puff pastry, which need rolling out several times. Echiré comes both salted and unsalted. (Incidentally, salt was first added to butter purely as a preservative, but now many people prefer a more seasoned taste.) Either way, it is pale in colour: the very light yellow of primrose petals. Its texture is also firmer than normal butter, but suppler and not as greasy. Skimming: the milk is separated into two components: the fat and the skimmed milk. The fat must be separated from the skimmed milk. Its taste: Our butter has a creamy taste and a high iodine content, which comes from the proximity of the sea, its geological history and the type of soil, which is flooded by salt water in winter.